Duel Monster Frontier Origins: Project Starsign
by DJ Shortstop Clue
Summary: This story takes place a year before Isaac's adventures in Termina! He and his friends are lured and trapped inside "Project Starsign" and must play through the game's story to get out, with help from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Cast! Rated T for situation and language
1. Day of Excitement

_Guess whos back for another round of fan fics!! In case you don't know, I began to rewrite my first story, Survivor! Duelist Style in story form. If you remember correctly, the first few chapters were written in script form, so that's going to change over the course of the month. And now, lets take a step back in time before Isaac and friend's adventures in Termina for a look at them during their years in Slifer Red. I hope you enjoy!_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor a majority of the characters. They are friends of mine!

Our story begins in the beautiful city of Carta Vista. It was a city in the United States just as live and prosperous as any other. It's here that our story takes place after Yu-Gi-Oh!, but before Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. The game of Duel Monsters has taken the world by storm. Made popular by Yugi Mutou and Seto Kaiba, Duel Monsters has become a huge part of pop culture. It grew so big that it has become a way of life. Created by the Kaiba Corporation, a well known business that manufactures many Duel Monster products (such as the crown jewel of Kaiba Corp, the Duel Disk), certain schools began to pop up all over, teaching kids the way of dueling, as well as general and physical education. After all, it has to have some kind of educational use other than dueling.

In Carta Vista, a certain Duel Academy was founded only a few years ago. Seto and Mokuba Kaiba themselves attended the grand opening of the school, as well as meeting the students. Seto, being Seto, was a man of many words, saying things like "don't disgrace his school" , "I don't have time or money to spend on failures", And other somewhat kind words of wisdom. Not only does this school train its students to become top rank Pro League Duelists, but it also offers other programs, such as Information Technology for those wanting to pursue a career in the Kaiba Corporation, or Game Designers and Card Artists for those who wish to follow the path of Industrial Illusions.

This Duel Academy was run differently. It was run like an average high school, but a little different. Freshmen are Slifer Reds. Sophomores are Ra Yellows. Juniors are Obelisk Blues. And Seniors are Exodia Browns.

Isaac Monclaire, a young 15 year old boy, just like all the others, dream of being a Pro Duelist, to follow in the footsteps of his father, Richard, who was a top ranked Duelist as well. He Idolized his father very much. There was just one other duelist in the world that he admired just as much as his father, if not then maybe a slight bit more… legendary duelist Yugi Mutou! Isaac just had one problem. In the heat of a duel, he often jumps the gun and makes a move without thinking it through. A move that's cost him many a duel. He thinks he's slowly getting over this problem, but his duels say otherwise.

Richard was proud that his son wanted to continue in his legacy of Dueling, and in short, he and his wife set aside fund to send Isaac to Duel Academy. Although Isaac is in the middle of his class, he still strives to be the best.

It was a day like any other. Isaac went to school proudly wearing his Red uniform (the same as that of the ones on the Academy Island school). It was towards the middle of the day, where the students would have a duel to put the skills that they learned through the day to the test against one another. Isaac was in a heated duel with the top student of his class, Derek Morrison. All eyes were on the two arch rivals.

"… I equip my Fantasy Warrior with the Legendary Sword spell card! This ups his attack points by 300 points!" Isaac shouted as he showed his Legendary Sword card, then placed it in the Spell/Trap zone of his duel disk

**Isaac's field - Fantasy Warrior (1800 2100 ATK) **

"Now my warrior! Win us this duel!! ATTACK HIS ELEMENTAL HERO STRATOS WITH YOUR LEGENDARY SWORD!!"

Suddenly, Derek gave off a sharp grin. "REVEAL FACE DOWN CARD!!"

"… Crap." Isaac said quietly. "…not again…"

"YES AGAIN! I play the trap card, Graverobber!!" Derek shouted as the card revealed itself on the field. Graverobber, a little dwarfen looking character, appeared and latched on to Isaac's Duel Disk.

"HEY!! GET OUT OF THERE!!" Isaac shouted as the Graverobber took a card from Isaac's graveyard.

"I'll go on and chain this play with YOUR Mirror Force that you used on me a while ago!!" Derek said.

Fantasy Warrior slashed at Elemental Hero Stratos, but the impact was absorbed by a mirror like barrier. It shattered, and the shards struck Fantasy Warrior, destroying it.

"And now that you're wide open, I'll counter attack!! Elemental Hero Stratos!! Attack with your Sonic Punch!!"

Elemental Hero Stratos dashed forward and punched Isaac in the chest, sending him flying backwards and landing on the ground.

**Isaac – 0 LP**

The teacher held up his left hand. "And the winner is Derek Morrison!" He said.

Derek walked over to Isaac, who was picking himself up off the ground. "Look at you, Little Isaac! You'll never be at the top of the Slifer Class like me if you keep rushing into things!" he taunted.

"I know that!" Isaac said.

"You'll always be a 3rd rate duelist! I'm Seto Kaiba, and your Joey Wheeler!" Derek laughed.

"I like Joey, smart mouth." Isaac said.

"Yeah, because both of you suck just the same! Hahahahahaha!!!" Derek laughed again.

Isaac growled.

"Blow off, Derek!!" Came a voice from behind him. Another student shoved his way past Derek and stood by Isaac. This was Damian Revior. He's Isaac's best friend who's skills rivaled Derek's. He's up there among the top of the class, and uses a Darkness deck. "Just wait til Monday, when I stomp you in the Schoolwide Duels!"

"Hmph! YOURE the one who's going to be embarrassed, Revior!" Derek said. He walked over and stared at Isaac. "Your little pal Damian wont always be there to protect you, little Isaac. So you'd better get better, and FAST!" Derek said. He turned, then walked back to his friends, the "popular" crowd.

"Don't let that jackass get to you." Damian said to Isaac.

"I didn't. Screw him." Isaac said.

"But You know man, part of what he said is true. If you keep rushing into things like you do, your sealing your defeat." Damian said as the two of them walked to the bleachers.

"I know, I know. But I'm working on it!" Isaac said with a smile. They sat with another boy, who wore glasses.

"You do that, and you'll be up there with the rest of us!" The boy said. This was Koichi Reese. He's the study type who likes to analyze all his moves before he makes them. (Think of him like Bastion Misawa from Yu-Gi-Oh GX!) His deck specialty is a Vehicroid Deck.

Damian laughed. "Listen to you! Look here, four eyes! You may be beating me scholastic wise, but duel wise, you cant hold my jock strap!"

Koichi stood up and put on his duel disk. "Would you like to put that claim into fruitation?!"

"Tomorrow." Damian said. "We're scheduled to duel tomorrow, remember. That way, I can embarrass you in front of the whole school!"

"PAH!" Koichi said as he sat down and laughed.

Another student, a female joined them. Unlike the boys, who wore the Slifer Red blazers and and pants, the females wore a trench coat looking Slifer Red coat with a skirt and boots. This student was Sakura Calloway. She's Koichi's half sister and a good friend with everyone in the class. Isaac also had a crush on her, however she doesn't take him seriously. She's one of the top female students in this class. She is also very skilled using a water deck.

"Damian, are you being mean again?" Sakura asked.

"What?! NO!" Damian said. "I'm never mean. I just state the facts! It's not my fault you all cant take the truth!" they all began to laugh.

"You guys are crazy!" Isaac said.

The teacher then blew his whistle to get everyone's attention. "OK students! Now for the final duel of the day!! Rufus Powell vs. Jack Lee!!"

A muscle bound student walked down the bleachers wearing a tank top, quickly putting his Slifer Red blazer back on. Rufus is a loyal and trustworthy friend who loves three things in life: weight training, a good old fashioned brawl, and dueling! He uses a power deck, using power enhancing spell, trap, and monster ability cards to overwhelm his opponents. He put his hand on Isaac's shoulder as he came down the bleachers.

"Watch this, Little Isaac! THIS is how you literally CRUSH the competition!" Rufus said with a grin.

"Do it to it Rufus!" Isaac said, giving the thumbs up.

"Good luck Rufus!" Sakura added.

Once Rufus and Jack made it to the duel arena, they both activated their duel disks. The teacher brought his hand up, then back down.

"BEGIN!!"

_**Meanwhile…**_

Starcrest games. They were once a small garage group that started making internet games until they began to get noticed. Soon they broke into the video game business with it's first big hit, the Legend of Celtic Guardian, followed by Kuriboh's Adventure. Both franchises became cult favorites. Starcrest soon moved from sharing an office building with a law firm to owning its own building on the outskirts of Carta Vista. Now, Starcrest is as big as Nintendo and Sega! Recently however, their games have started to lose the same spark as they had at the height of their popularity.

The president of Starcrest, Daniel Sims, figured it was time to move about a new direction. And since Duel Monsters is so popular, going off that engine would be the perfect approach at bringing back Starcrest's fans. Hence, a new project began. A breakthrough project that was never been done any gaming company. The goal? To be better than Industrial Illusions AND Kaiba Corporation! This project was code named "Starsign". The actual name for this project was still unknown. After months of non stop development, Project Starsign was finished! Daniel made this a top priority, and of course, he decided that he would be the one to pick someone to test out the new game. But he didn't have Duelists like Yugi, Kaiba, or Joey Wheeler in mind.

Daniel and his development team have been traveling to different Duel Academies around the nation to monitor the young Duelists to see which of them would be the right candidate to test out "Starsign".

On this particular day, a Starcrest Games van parked a couple blocks away from the Duel Academy in Carta Vista. The van stayed there for a few minutes, then suddenly the back doors opened. Six micro cameras disguised as flies flew out in a line and inside Duel Academy, undetected. The cameras analyzed every duel that went on. Even those that were dueling for fun in the school's courtyards.

Inside the van, Daniel, along with his development team, were watching the duels from a travel mega computer with 6 monitors.

"Man, I hope we find the right kid here! I lost count of how many Duel Academies we've been to!" said one of the developers.

"I each school we've been to it's the same thing! Those Exodias and Obelisks are pretty good. Why don't we just take one of them?" asked another developer.

"Don't be foolish!" Daniel said. "We aren't looking for a Duelist just because they're upper classmen! The right duelist is a diamond in the rough, and if we have to go all over the WORLD, we will! Once we unveil Project Starsign, the whole world will recognize Starcrest Games as the greatest gaming company in the world! Even that obnoxious Seto Kaiba!"

"We understand, Mr. Sims." Said the third developer.

"Good. Now keep the cameras on those duels." Daniel said. "_The right Duelist has to be here… Wait… WAIT!!" _Daniel was wide eyed as he looked into one of the monitors. "THAT ONE!! RIGHT THERE!! ZOOM IN!!"

The camera zoomed in on Isaac's duel with Derek.

"Mr. Sims, that duel took place 10 minutes ago." The second developer said.

Daniel eyed Isaac. He was intrigued. _"YES… YES!!! HE'S THE ONE!! THAT'S THE ONE WE WANT!! I SENSE SOMETHING… DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS ONE… THIS HAS TO BE THE ONE WE'RE LOOKING FOR!!" _Daniel turned to the first developer. "Did you hack into the school's database?"

"Yes sir. That was first thing I did when we set up shop." He said.

"Excellente! I want a scan on that boy. Right there. The Slifer Red student!" Daniel said, pointing at Isaac on the monitor.

"Okie Dokie. No problem." The developer said. The computer began to make a wide range of beeping noises. a large sum of paper printed out, and the developer took it and looked it over. "Alright… His name is Isaac Monclaire. He's a first year Slifer Red with a Duel level of 2 and a half stars out of 5. He's an average student, sir. Are you sure this is who you want?"

"WHAT DID I JUST GET THROUGH TELLING YOU?!?!"

The developers gasped. The second developer put the first one in a headlock. "PLEASE FORGIVE HIM FOR HIS IGNORANCE, SIR!! IF THAT'S WHO YOU WANT, THAT'S OUR WINNER!!"

"And DON'T you forget it!!" Daniel said. He turned his back and grinned. "So your name is Isaac?! Well muchacho… prepare for the opportunity of a lifetime!!"

The bells began to ring throughout Duel Academy. This was the release bell. The students began to pile out of class like ants out of an ant hill. Isaac, Damian, Sakura, Koichi, Rufus, and another friend, Michelle Sorbet walked out together, talking.

Michelle uses a fairy deck, and other than dueling, she's a typical girl. She's very outspoken and apparently, she's the pearl of Damian's eye. However she doesn't seem interested, as relationships appear to be the last thing on her mind.

The third developer, who was now wearing a business suit and sunglasses, watched Isaac like a hawk as he walked with his friends down the street. He ran around the block, to make sure he stood in the path where Isaac and friends were walking. Unbeknownst to them, Michelle was telling them about her day.

"… so then I used Trap Hole and destroyed her Crimson Sunbird, then I hit her directly and won the duel! And because of that, your looking at Duel Academy's newest and only Slifer Red student to become head cheerleader!" Michelle said excited

"Sweet! So… why is this such a bad thing?" Isaac asked.

"Um, HELLO!? I broke a NAIL!! SEE?!" Michelle said, waving her hand in Isaac's face.

"OK OK! I GET IT!" Isaac laughed.

"Haha! You know a woman is sensitive about a lot of things, Little Isaac!" Rufus laughed.

"Oh we are not!" Sakura said.

"Yes you are! Clothes, nails, hair, make up, … shall I go on?" Koichi said.

"OH you guys are just the same! Video games, cars, sports, … need I go on?!" Sakura said.

"ANYWAYS, If you want, I'll take you to get that nail filled, Michelle." Damian said with a smile.

"Uh, no. I'm going with Sakura." Michelle said.

"Nice try, boy." Sakura laughed.

"Haha! You guys are crazy… huh?" Isaac said. He quickly looked in front of him to see the developer standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Is your name Isaac Monclaire?" He asked.

Isaac looked the man up and down and shook his head. "Sorry. My mama taught me never to talk to strangers."

Rufus began to crack his knuckles. "And if they're smart, they'll turn and walk their over dressed asses away or they'll be asking for a PRIVATE chiropractor session."

The developer began to wave his arms in front of him. "H-HEY!! I DON'T WANT ANY TROUBLE!! I'm just a messenger! You've been selected by Starcrest Games to test it's newest video game!!"

Isaac, Damian, and Koichi's eyes began to wided.

"Starcrest Games… THE Starcrest games?!" Damian asked.

"The very!" The developer said.

"Prove it!" Sakura said.

The developer reached into his shirt and pulled out his ID Badge that was attached to a lanyard around his neck. Isaac took it and looked it over. "Neil Marshall… Lead Developer… ITS TRUE!! Sorry I was so rude earlier…"

"It's alright! Kids need to be cautious nowadays. But as I said, We've been working on a breakthrough new video game with technology you could only dream of! We just recently finished and we've been scouting Duel Academies the world over looking for the perfect Duelist to test it out!" Neil explained.

"Duelists? Why would you want a Duelist?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, why don't you go to one of those comic con conventions or something like that and ask one of those hardcore nerds to test out your game?" Michelle said.

"Well, the feedback needs to come from the mind of a Duelist because we're using an engine that's very similar to Duel Monsters. And of course, who better to test it than a Duelist!" Neil said.

"Sounds great! And you want me?!" Isaac said happily. "But… I'm not exactly the best duelist out there… what makes me so special?"

"That much I'm not sure, but you were personally hand picked by Daniel Sims himself." Neil said.

Isaac, Damian, and Koichi almost went into shock at this claim.

"Da-da-da-da-da- DANIEL SIMS?!" Isaac muttered.

"Di-di-di-di-di-di-di-did h-h-h-h-he ju-uh just say… DANIEL SIMS?!!" Damian wheezed.

Koichi quickly pulled out an inhaler and inhaled so much he nearly swallowed it.

"Uh…" Michelle said looking at the three of them. She looked back at Sakura and Rufus. "Who's Daniel Sims?"

"I have NO idea." Sakura said.

"WHO'S DANIEL SIMS?!" Isaac, Damian, and Koichi said in unison.

"HE'S THE PRESIDENT OF STARCREST GAMES!! HE'S THE GENIUS WHO TOOK A SMALL MOM-AND-POP OWNED BUSINESS AND BROUGHT IT TO VIDEO GAME STARDOM!!" Koichi shouted.

"He's the guy who created my two favorite games of all time… the Legend of Celtic Guardian AND the Kuriboh's Adventure series!" Isaac said.

"AND let's not forget, this guy dates super models AND actresses!! Dude is livin' la vida loca!" Damian added.

"Wooooow… okaaaaaaay…" Michelle said. "You three are nerds too!"

"… he dates supermodels?! REALLY?" Rufus said

"The fact that he hand picked me… WHAT AN HONOR!! Wait… can my friends come too?" Isaac asked.

"Of course they can!" Neil said. "As a matter of fact, Mr. Sims insisted you bring guests. The more feedback we get, the better we can make the last minute adjustments to the game!" Neil then reached into his suit pocked and pulled out an invitation, then handed it to Isaac. "Saturday at 1pm. Present this at the Starcrest Games front gate and they'll let you in. Mr. Sims will be looking forward to meeting you."

Isaac took the invitation and grinned like a schoolboy. "We're going to get to meet THE Daniel Sims! Man, if Yugi would be there… ID DIE A HAPPY MAN!!"

"We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday." Neil said as he turned and walked away.

"Oh we'll be there!! Thanks Neil!!" Isaac said. He turned to his friends. "So, are you all coming with me?"

"YES!!" Damian and Koichi said in unison.

"Sure, I'll go, test out a new video game? I'm there!" Rufus said.

"I guess I'll go… just to see what all the hype is about." Sakura said.

"Sakura! We're SUPPOSED to go to the mall on Saturday, remember?" Michelle said.

"Well yeah… but this game… maybe it'll help us out as Duelists… maybe." Sakura said.

Michelle sighed. "Well I'm not going to be left out, so I'm going too! Whether you like it or not."

"Cool! Ok Michelle, how bout I pick you up at 12 and we can get something to eat, then head over to the Starcrest building together." Damian said.

"'How bout' NOT." Michelle said.

Everyone laughed.

"Looks like the gang's all here on this one!" Isaac said.

And with that, the happy group continued their walk home.

**Saturday, 12:50pm**

The Starcrest building was a large 12 story building that developed all sorts of games, from console games to games for mobile phones. Although it was the only building that was on the outskirts of the city, it was still a nicely maintained building.

A taxi pulled up to the front, and Isaac, Damian, Koichi, Sakura, Rufus, and Michelle all piled out. Sakura paid the taxi driver, and it sped away. Isaac pulled out the invitation and the group approached the building.

"Man, this is SO schway! I cant believe we're going to meet Daniel Sims!! It's like a dream come true!" Isaac said.

"That's cool and all, but I'm more excited about trying out this new game! If they're using the same engine as Duel Monsters and using Duelists to test the game out, you KNOW it's going to be a sweet trip!" Damian said.

"I'm sooo excited!!" Koichi said. He quickly pulled out a brand new inhaler and began to inhale. "Hahaha! I bought a new one last night for today!"

Rufus shook his head. "Good one, Little Koichi!"

"I just want to see what all the fuss is about. I WANTED to buy new shoes and get my nails redone. This had better be good!" Michelle said.

"You know Michelle, I'm not keeping you here at gun point." Isaac said.

"BUT!" Damian said, shoving Isaac aside. "It's a pleasure to have you along!"

"Better be!" Michelle said.

"Smooth. Real smooth." Isaac said.

"Shut up." Damian said.

The group approached the building, and Neil stood outside waiting for them. "Isaac! You made it!"

"Neil! Hey there!" He said. He showed Neil the invitation, and he guided them inside.

"Haha! Our security team is in a meeting so some of us are taking shifts guarding the area til they come back!" Neil said.

"OOOOOOOOHHHH…" Isaac and friends said in unison.

Neil lead the others inside the building, past the reception desk, and towards the elevators. He pushed a button to the 12th floor. As they got there, they were met by none other than Daniel Sims.

"Mr. Sims." Neil said. "I present to you Isaac Monclaire, and his friends!"

"Isaac!" Daniel said with a smile. "I've waited so long to meet you! Welcome to Starcrest Games main office building… well, only office building."

"M-meet me? The pleasure is all mine!" Isaac said. He shook hands with Daniel. "I am a HUGE fan of your games, but I have to be up front… Legend of Celtic Guardian IV was kind of a let down…"

"Yeah, well… there were script problems from the very beginning. But hey my friend, look at it this way! It sets the mood for Legend of Celtic Guardian V. Eh? EH?" Daniel responded.

Isaac turned to Damian. "I told you! I TOLD YOU! You owe me five bucks!"

"…How bout I give you my brother's rarest card?" Damian said, negotiatingly.

"Better not be anything lame like a Basic Insect or a Hercules Beetle." Isaac said.

Sakura punched Isaac's other arm. "AHEM!?"

"OH! Mr. Sims… these are my friends… Sakura Calloway, Damian Revior, Koichi Reese, Rufus Powell, and Michelle Sorbet."

"A pleasure to meet you all! A group of Duelists like you is just what our game needs!" Daniel said.

Koichi began to inhale out his inhaler again.

"So…" Sakura said. "What's so good about Isaac that you choose him out of all the Duelists in the world?"

"Yeah, he's not exactly the Yugi Mutou type." Rufus said.

"Thanks." Isaac said, annoyed.

"Baulderdash!" Daniel said. "Senorita, all you duelists think that dueling is about skills or how good you are… well that may be true in the world of dueling, but I think what makes a duelist is heart and passion! And Isaac has that tenfold! We sent scouts out to spectate all the Duel Academies in the area, and we weren't looking for someone who was a dueling pro. If that were the case we would have chosen an Obelisk or an Exodia. But Isaac, he has something different! The fiery passion in his eyes whenever he duels is an inspiration to people everywhere! If dueling were based on heart and passion other than life points, Isaac would be an all star duelist!"

"Wow… a speech by THE Daniel Sims… we aren't worthy!!" Koichi said.

"Well that is true! I do see the eyes of a lion in Isaac's eyes when he duels!" Michelle said.

"And I've got the eyes of a Panther Warrior!" Damian said to Michelle.

Michelle squinted her eyes at Damian. "Yeah, you keep thinking that."

"Stop that! You guys are embarrassing me!" Isaac said grinning.

Rufus put him in a playful headlock. "Yeah, milk it while you can little Isaac! You still have a long way to go before you can catch up to US in the class duels! Hahahaha!"

"GEE THANKS!" Isaac muttered under Rufus' arms.

Sakura was silent. She had a 'woman's intuition' that there was something more to this whole project. She just didn't know what to make of it.

"Well, not to be rude, but can we get to why we came here?" Michelle said.

"MICHELLE!" Koichi shouted.

"WHAT?!" Michelle shot back.

"DO NOT address Daniel Sims unless Daniel Sims addresses YOU!" he said.

"Pfffth!"

"No no, its ok. It's time we got started on Project Starsign." Daniel said.

"Starsign?" Isaac asked.

"Yes. Right now, "Starsign" is the name of our game. Let me explain." Daniel walked Isaac and friend through the research and development area. "We want to take video gaming to a whole new level… 100 percent interactive. Using the latest in cutting edge technology, we were able to …" Daniel's explanation began to get very technical.

"UH!" Damian shouted.

"For those of us who DON'T speak nerd?" Rufus said.

"You will be digitized into 'Starsign'." Daniel said.

"WHAAAAAT?!" the Duelists said in unison.

"That's right! This has NEVER been done nor attempted! Until now! Starcrest Games will accomplish the impossible! And you six will be a part of history!" Daniel said excitedly.

"COOL!!!" Koichi shouted.

"OH THIS IS SOOO PAST COOL!" Isaac said. The two of them slapped five.

"And you want US to be your little guinea pigs?!" Sakura said.

"SAKURA!" Damian said.

"What is WRONG with you?!" Koichi said.

Isaac pulled her back a little. "Saki baby, calm down, ok?"

Sakura pushed Isaac away. "DO NOT touch me, Isaac! AND I TOLD YOU ABOUT CALLING ME BABY!"

"Um… Saki… calm down." Rufus said.

"Yeah girl… I see a little vain popping out of your head." Michelle said.

"IM NOT CALMING DOWN!! WHAT IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG WITH THIS THING!!"

"Whoa now…" Daniel said. "We tested it on our own employees… we would NEVER do anything to put you all in danger. You have our 100 percent guarantee!"

"Don't mind her, Mr. Sims." Isaac said. "She can be a little touchy sometimes..."

"Haha! Its understandable! Anyways, come with me. It's time to get you all ready for the game.

Daniel lead the fuming Sakura and the other Duelists to a large room. The door had a large sign that said, "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY". He swiped his key card and the large steel door opened, and everyone walked inside. He brought them to a table with duel disks all over them.

"Hey! It's a Duel Disk!" Isaac said.

"That's right! These are special Duel Disks that will connect to the nerves in your bodies. It will read your movements and thoughts, making you a part of the game!" Daniel said.

Everyone, sans Sakura, put the Duel Disks on.

"Does Seto Kaiba know your using HIS work for YOUR project?" she asked smugly.

"Of course!" Daniel said. "Starcrest Games have been working very closely with the Kaiba Corporation in order to make this the game of the century! Kaiba himself approved of the use of the Duel Disk!"

"Come on, Sakura. Just go along with it." Isaac said.

"Yeah! If Kaiba trusts these guys, then surely you can." Damian said.

Sakura let out a sigh. "Okay." She then walked over and put on a Duel Disk.

Daniel then handed each of them a red bracelet. Isaac's had a large star on his. "These bracelets will allow the game to recognize you as the playable characters. Isaac, that star on yours means that you are the main character."

"Cool!" Isaac said.

"Um, wait… how do we play this game?" Michelle asked.

"Don't worry. Everything will be explained for you once you enter the game world. Now, is there anything else before you enter Starsign?" Daniel said.

The friends looked at one another, then back at Daniel. "Nope. We're good to go." Isaac said.

"Excellent!" Daniel said. He led them to what looked like a large dome. There was a door at the front. "THIS beauty is Starsign!"

"… It looks like a planetarium." Rufus said.

"Now go on inside, watch the monitor as it explains the game, and shortly after, you will be brought into the world of Starsign! Best of luck to you! And most importantly, have fun!" Daniel said.

"We definitely will!" Isaac said.

He and the others entered the dome, and the door closed behind them. Daniel grinned, looked left, then right, then walked over and slapped a large padlock on the door. He locked it, then walked casually out of the room.

Inside the dome, Isaac, Sakura, Damian, Michelle, Koichi, and Rufus stood side by side next to each other.

"Did you guys hear something out there just now?" Sakura said.

"No. Stop being paranoid." Damian said.

The monitor suddenly came on.

"_The year is 20XX… Life has reached other planets. Five great planets make up the Baklava solar system. These planets include Razen, the fire planet, Gren, the wood planet, Puffoon, the wind planet, Cassia, the water planet, and Erd, the earth planet. Each planet features it's own unique geography and civilization. 70 percent of the Baklava solar system is made up of Duelists. _

_There is another planet tucked away in a far, quaint end of the system. This planet is called Kovomaka. A large sum of the duelists in the solar system lives on Kovomaka. Recently however, the Duelist population has been slowly decreasing. An unknown force is huntin… _

**WARNING… WARNING… SYSTEM OVERHEAT IMMINENT!!! BEGIN COOL DOWN PROTOCOL…**

**COOL DOWN PROTOCOL DISABLED… INITIATE SYSTEM SHUT DOWN…**

**SYSTEM SHUT DOWN FAILURE… EVACUATE… EVACUATE…**

Loud noises began to sound and the monitor began flickering on and off. Steam poured from the dome.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!!" Damian shouted.

"Something's wrong with the Starsign!" Koichi said.

"I KNEW IT!! I TOLD YOU GUYS!!" Sakura said.

Isaac quickly ran to the door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"ISAAC, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! OPEN THE DOOR!!" Michelle shouted.

"ITS NOT BUDGING!! THEY LOCKED US IN!!" Isaac shouted.

"?!?!?!" Rufus shouted. "Little Isaac, Little Michelle, OUT OF MY WAY!!" Rufus ran over to the door and using his upper body strength, began to pound and punch the door. However, it wasn't budging an inch. "DAMMIT!!! WE'RE TRAPPED!!"

"DANIEL!!! HELP!!!" Koichi shouted.

Isaac, Damian, and Rufus pounded and shoved the door together, but it was useless.

"I wanted to go to the mall… WHY DIDN'T I JUST GO TO THE MALL?!" Michelle cried.

Suddenly, Daniel appeared on the monitor. "Rejoice, Duelists." He said. "Everything is going according to plan. Just play through the game and everything will be OK." He gave an evil like grin.

"DANIEL!! GET US OUT OF HERE!!" Isaac said.

"I cant do that. The game has just begun." Daniel said. "Just play through it like I said, and everything will be OK."

"DO NOT SCREW WITH US, SIMS!!! OPEN THIS F—KIN' DOOR!!!!" Rufus shouted as his face entered the monitor.

"Sayonara." Daniel said as he turned the monitor off.

"DAMMIT!!! WE'VE BEEN SET UP!!!!!!" Damian shouted.

Koichi suddenly screamed. The others looked as his body from the feet up began to dematerialize. Soon it was happening to them too.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING TO US?!!" Sakura shouted.

"I THINK WE'RE BEING DIGITIZED INTO THE GAME!!" Isaac shouted back.

"BUT… THE SYSTEM IS GOING TO BREAK DOWN!! WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO US?!" Damian shouted.

"LET ME OUT!! LET ME OUT!! LET ME OUT!!" Michelle shouted.

"TOO LATE!!! WERE BEING SUCKED IN!!!" Isaac shouted.

They all screamed until they were completely digitized into nothingness.

Daniel watched as Isaac and his friends evaporated out of the room. He then began to laugh maniacally. "NOW ISAAC!! LET'S SEE IF YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS ARE DUELIST ENOUGH TO PLAY THROUGH **MY **GAME!! AND THEN… WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE… WE'LL FINISH OUR WAR WITH SETO KAIBA AND HIS PRECIOUS KAIBA CORPRATION!!! MWA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"

**And so, Isaac and his friends have been forcefully digitized into Project Starsign. What horrors and dangers await them in this mysterious game of Daniel Sims? Find out next chapter!**

**I hope you enjoyed! If your still hungry for an update from me, then remember my very first story, Survivor: Duelist Style? Well read chapter 2 of that story! It's been rewritten in story form, and not in script form anymore! **


	2. Tutorial

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! nor a majority of the characters that appear in this story. They are friends of mine!

"…………………….. ac ………….. aac……… Isaac……. Captain Isaac……….. are you alright, sir?"

"Unnnnnnggggghhhh…."

Isaac moaned. He slowly began to come to. He was laid out on the ground, face up. He sat up and rubbed his head, then began to look around. He was in a cave like surrounding. "Ugh… what happened… I feel like I got jet lag or something…" he said.

"Captain Isaac! You're awake! Thank the gods! When you just collapsed on the ground like that, we got really worried!"

"Huh?" Isaac turned around to see a man standing behind him, along with a young boy. "W-who are you guys?!" he asked.

"Are you serious? Do you really not know who we are?" The boy asked.

"Maybe he hit his head when he collapsed." The man said. "I am Jusell, and this is Malaikura. We are all members of the Returners… an underground resistance movement bent on bringing down the darkness that has risen throughout the galaxy… is anything coming back to you, Captain?"

Isaac slowly shook his head.

"You are the leader of the Returners! Captain Isaac!" Malaikura said. "Right now we're in our secret base on the planet Kovomaka. Ringing any bells yet?"

Isaac suddenly went into deep thought. "_Kovomaka?! Wait… that sounds familiar… OF COURSE!! That's the name of one of those planets in that game! So if these guys are telling me I'm on that planet… I must be inside the game!!"_ Isaac looked around, stunned. "_Man, it looks so real!! But… why would Daniel coax us in here? This doesn't make an ounce of sense!" _ He then looked at Jusell and Malaikura. _"These must be the characters in the game. And if they're calling me Captain, then this must be the role I was assigned to play. I'd better go along with this… at least until I find out what's going on… or I can find a way out of here… WAIT!! Where's the others?!" _

Isaac came back to his senses. "Sorry for making you worry. Its starting to slowly come back to me… so what's this darkness we're fighting?"

"Well…" Jusell said. "Duelists the solar system over have been disappearing one by one, and nobody seems to know why. Its like they're being hunted down and captured! But as duelists ourselves, we all formed a group and decided to look in on this. Unfortunately, the scouts we sent out never returned. And our other bases have been attacked and the Duelists were all captured! There's only 3 of us left… the ones in this very room."

"So then… if we're the only Duelists left… that means they're going to be coming after us!" Isaac said.

"Yes, but heres the sweet part!" Malaikura said. "We're hidden in an underground cave! They'll never find us in here!"

"Then… my friends… Damian, Sakura, Koichi, Rufus, and Michelle… you don't think they got kidnapped too, do you?" Isaac asked.

"It's a possibility…" Jusell said sadly.

"Then we FIGHT!"

"ARE YOU MAD?!" Jusell asked. "We're completely outnumbered!"

"Well we cant just hide like a bunch of rats in a hole! We have to get out there and save our friends!"

"Yes! I agree!" Malaikura said. "No more running! Its time we make those kidnappers do the running and hiding!"

"Captain… do you even remember how to battle?" Jusell asked Isaac.

"Battle? What is this, Pokemon? Don't you mean duel?!"

"Poke-what?" Malaikura said.

"No, battle… with your Duel Monsters? Captain, you must have hit your head pretty hard." Jusell said. "Allow me to explain. You see, you summon monsters as if you were in a duel just place your card on your duel disk, and the monsters appear before you! Then you command them to fight, defend, or flee from battle! But beware though, as you and your monsters are connected. Whatever damage your monster takes, YOU feel it too!"

"I see! That's sweet!" Isaac said. He activated his duel disk. "So I put a card on my disk like so, and… HUH!? What the?!" Isaac noted that there were metal plates drilled on his monster and spell/trap zones of his duel disks. They were on all the plates except one. "What gives?! What happened to my duel disk!?"

"Those are called 'caps' Captain!" Malaikura said. "You see, low level duelists have caps attached to their monster and spell/trap zones on their duel disks. But as you fight and level up, you can remove the caps! So the more experience you have, the more monsters and spells and traps you get to work with!"

"So right now I can only summon one monster and use one spell or trap? That's wack!" Isaac said.

"Wack?" Jusell said.

"Yeah… you know, not good? Really bad?" Isaac said. "Anyway, guess I'll need to fight some battles if I want to build a strong offense. At least I have my trusty deck!" Isaac reached into the deck box attached to his belt and opened it. It felt very light. He pulled out 6 cards. He then got angry.

"WHERE IN THE DEVIL ARE MY CARDS?!?!" Isaac growled.

"Those… are your card, captain…" Jusell said.

"Great! I'm stuck in this game, I can only summon one freakin monster, and to make matter worse, I only have 6 damn cards to work with!!" Isaac said. "Daniel is going to pay DEARLY for this!!" Isaac complained.

"Don't worry Captain! I'm sure you'll find much stronger cards as we travel!" Malaikura said happily.

"I hope your right about that. I don't like our chances already." Isaac said. He then looked at the cards he was left with. Celtic Guardian. Beaver Warrior. Kuriboh. Legendary Sword. 2 Blue Medicine spell cards. "I guess I can work with these… for now…"

Suddenly there was a loud crash. The sounds of many footsteps could be heard.

"Sam hill?!" Isaac said.

"What was that?" Malaikura asked.

"They've found us!!" Jusell said. "We've got to flee!"

"No!" Isaac said. "First we see what we're dealing with! If these are the guys who kidnapped my friends, they're in for a serious fight!"

"But Captain! That's suicide!" Jusell said.

"But we cant just run forever Jusell! Let's fight by our captain's side!" Malaikura said.

Jusell sighed. "You win… I guess I've lived a full life!"

The three activated their duel disks. The door was suddenly busted open as a trio of Silver Fangs dashed into the room.

"Silver Fangs!" Isaac said.

"Let's send these pooches packing!" Malaikura said.

"I like that!" Isaac said with a grin.

"Right! I SUMMON GHOUL WITH AN APPITITE!!" Jusell shouted as he placed a card on his duel disk.

"I SUMMON TAO THE CHANTER!!" Malaikura shouted, following Jusell's example.

"AND I SUMMON LOUISE, THE BEAVER WARRIOR!!" Isaac shouted, doing the same thing.

Ghoul with an Appetite, Tao the Chanter, and Beaver Warrior took form in front of their respected Duelists.

"ATTACK!" The three shouted in unison.

The monsters dashed forward. Ghoul with an Appetite grabbed a Silver Fang and swallowed it whole. Beaver Warrior used it's quickness to dash up on a Silver Fang and gave it a quick slash, destroying it easily. Tao the Chanter fired a ball of dark energy, destroying the last Silver Fang.

"WOO HOO!! WE DID IT!!" Malaikura cheered.

"Take that!" Isaac said.

"Do not get cocky you two! I think they sent those mutts in here to scout the area! When the enemy discovers that we destroyed them, they're going to no doubt send for stronger reinforcements!" Jusell explained.

"He's right! Any ideas, Malaikura?" Isaac asked.

Suddenly, 5 Koumori Dragons busted through the wall. Three men dressed in all back with ski masks on followed after.

"Yeah, here's one… RUN!!" Malaikura shouted. Without wasting a moment, he turned and ran.

"Nnnngh…" Isaac groaned as he noticed they were out muscled. He and Jusell followed behind young Malaikura.

"So… there really were Duelists hiding down here." Another man entered the room. He was dressed in all red. "I want the three of them captured. Now go after them!"

One of the Koumori Dragons roared, then busted through the walls like a bulldozer after Isaac, Jusell, and Malaikura. The dragon swiftly moved ahead of them and turned around, then blew out a ray of dark flames. Once it hit the floor, the three duelists dove out of the way.

"GO, DHARMA CANNON!!" Jusell shouted.

"HELP US OUT, EMBODIMENT OF APOPHIS!!" Malaikura shouted.

"CELTIC GUARDIAN, LET'S DO IT TO IT!!" Isaac shouted.

Through the flames a barrages of energy attacks from Dharma Cannon shot forward and struck the dragon directly. Side by side, Celtic Guardian and Embodiment of Apophis shot through the fire and slashed through the wound caused by Dharma Cannon and destroyed the Koumori Dragon.

"HOODY HOO!!!" Isaac shouted. He and Malaikura slapped five.

"Let's go!!" Jusell shouted.

The three of them continued to run.

Jusell looked back to see the two other Koumori dragons hot on their heels. The dark figures weren't far behind them, joining the pursuit. _"This is madness! They have an unlimited supply of monsters, and we cant fight them all! We… we simply cannot win…" _

"Jusell!! You still with us?" Isaac asked.

"Huh? Yes!" Jusell said. "I know a short cut! Follow me!"

Jusell lead Isaac and Malaikura down a different path. He quickly opened the door and waited for Isaac and Malaikura to run inside, then closed and locked it. Inside was a large room with a round escape pod inside and a large computer.

"Wow! I've never seen THIS room before! Have you, Captain?" Malaikura asked.

"No… what is this place, Jusell?" Isaac asked.

"This is our last resort… we must flee Kovomaka! We simply cannot win this battle!" Jusell said.

"No! We CAN win this! We have to! If we don't, we'll never see our friends again!" Isaac said. "Let's stand together and fight them! This is OUR base!"

"Isaac. It took all three of us just to take down ONE of their Koumori Dragons! And they still have stronger monsters in their reserves!" Jusell explained.

"But… things will work out fine if we just try hard enough, right?" Malaikura asked.

"No, Malaikura… things will NOT work out fine if we just try hard enough! We're out muscled and outmanned!" Jusell said.

Isaac looked over the escape pod. "But wait… there's only room in that pod for just one of us… whos gonna…"

Suddenly, Jusell shoved Isaac into the pod! He pushed a button and the hatch closed. "HEY!! JUSELL!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

"Getting you out of here!! You can gather other duelists out there and stand up to whoever is causing this chaos!! I'm sorry Captain, but this is where we part ways!" Jusell said.

"NO!! I CANT DO THIS ALONE!! I NEED YOU TWO!! JUSELL!! MALAIKURA!! OPEN THIS POD!! LET ME OUT!! THAT'S AN ORDER!!" Isaac shouted.

"Sorry Captain." Malaikura said sadly. "That's an order I simply cant follow. You can do it! I know you can!!"

Suddenly the Koumori Dragons busted through the wall! Jusell and Malaikura gasped! Jusell quickly ran towards the computer, dove forward and smashed the launch button! The escape pod rose up on a platform and the top of the cave opened.

The men in black charged the room and tackled Malaikura and hogtied poor Jusell.

"JUSELL!!!!! MALAIKURA!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Isaac shouted as he banged on the glass door. He watched helplessly as his only two friends were tied up and restrained to the ground. The man in red suddenly entered the room with a sadistic smile on his face.

Jusell looked up at Isaac's pod as it soon rose out of sight. "Godspeed, Captain… Godspeed."

The man in red looked down at Jusell and Malaikura and growled. "THERE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THREE OF THEM!! WHERE'S THE THIRD ONE!?"

"S-somewhere… YOU cant get him!" Malaikura laughed. The man in red stomped on his back.

"I'll find that coward soon enough. Til then, I guess two out of three isn't bad. Lets report back to base!"

Meanwhile, Isaac's pod rose up to the sky, and flames began to erupt from the bottom. The pod shot up into the sky and within mere seconds, it was deep in space.

"WHOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! SWEET!!" Isaac shouted as his fears turned to excitement.

He rocketed into the darkness of space, past stars and meteors, towards the unknown. He was still upset over the fate of his new friends Jusell and Malaikura, but he knows the only thing he can do is move forward. To seek revenge for all his friends, and confront Daniel Sims. This was the start of Isaac's grand adventure… Beyond the Beyond!

**The tutorial has ended and the real game has just begun. What is waiting for Isaac out in space? Where is his rocket heading? Find out next chapter!!**


	3. Isaac's Erd Adventure

**I've been very sick as of late, but im doing better now! 2010 has not been very good to me, but that's ok, cuz I have a nice, long update for you! Enjoy. **

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Nor a majority of the characters. They are friends of mine!

Isaac's rocket careened through the stars in space. The pressure sucked him deep into his

seat. He had a hard time keeping his eyes open as he sped past stars and asteroids.

"_Man… this… feels… so… real…" _He thought.

Though he knew they weren't real, he couldn't stop worrying about poor Jusell and Malaikura. What did those invaders do with them? As worried as he was about his new friends, he was even more curious about where his space pod was headed. Were those invaders able to follow him? For the most part, the speed of the pod sucked him further and further into his seat. As he tried to open his eyes a little wider, something came into view. It was a planet! It began to get bigger and bigger. A flashing red light on the small control panel of his pod indicated that he was entering the atmosphere.

The pod sped closer and closer towards the planet, turning into a blaze as it came closer and closer towards the planet, til finally, it entered the atmosphere and collided with the ground! The impact was so great, the door busted off it's hinges and Isaac flew 7 feet out of the pod from the impact. He laid unconscious for a good 10 minutes, finally awakening.

He sat up and rubbed his head, looking around. It was dark outside, and it was a large desert like area.

"Great… just perfect." Isaac said. "I have no idea where I am, and my friends are nowhere to be found! This game SUCKS!" He quickly turned around and ran toward his escape pod. "AW MAN!" He yelled. "It's busted! I'm stuck here!" He looked over his Duel Disk and his cards to make sure everything was ok. "Guess I gotta push on forward… you don't be a game by going backwards." And so, Isaac began to walk forward through the ocean of starry sand.

"When I see Mr. Sims, I am SO gonna kick his ass for this!"

Isaac walked farther and farther. He felt very thirsty. He kept dropping to one knee at many points. Finally, something came into view. A grin began to spread across Isaac's face.

"I'm getting somewhere!"

He ran to the image and gasped. It was a round escape pod that was similar to his! "This looks like my space ship! WAIT! Did I go backwards!?" Isaac looked the ship over, but the door was still attached, where as on his, the door busted off from impact.

"Someone else is here! Did Jusell or Malaikura escape?" Isaac said. Something appeared in the corner of his eye. He quickly turned around to see a figure lying face down in the sand. He gasped again, then ran over to the figure. He got close and turned whomever it was around. Joy began to spread throughout his body when he saw who it was! A friendly face! One of his friends! And not just any friend… it was Sakura!

Isaac lifted her up and began to pat her on the face. "Sakura! Saki! Wake up!! Please be ok! Wake up! Please!"

Sakura remained un responsive.

A sudden thought made Isaac hot and his heart beat fast. "I'll have to give her… mouth to mouth resuscitation!"

He laid Sakura down on her back, then opened her mouth. He began to sweat in the face and his heart began to beat faster. He moved closer, and closer, and just when he was about to press his mouth against hers, she began to cough! He jumped back as she began to breathe heavily.

"_wa…ter… need… wa…ter…" _she muttered. _"…in… space…ship…"_

"Water?" Isaac said. "You're thirsty! Of course!" He looked back at her escape pod, then ran over towards it. He looked inside, and saw a bottle of spring water in the seat. He grabbed it, then quickly ran back over to Sakura. He then unscrewed the cap and threw it behind him. Then he lifted Sakura up and began to slowly pour the water into her mouth. Sakura drank ever drop, then began to cough up a storm. Her pretty eyes opened, and she looked over at Isaac and smiled. Isaac smilled back at her.

"Sakura… you're ok! I'm so glad… I was worried about you! I… I missed you!"

Sakura suddenly slapped Isaac across the face!

"OUCH!!! WHAT THE CRAP!? WHAT WAS THAT FOR?! IS THAT WHAT I GET FOR SAVING YOUR LIFE?!"

"ISAAC YOU JERK!! YOU TRIED TO STEAL A KISS WHILE I WAS UNCONSIOUS!!"

"I DID NO SUCH THING!! I TRIED TO GIVE YOU MOUTH TO MOUTH!!"

"UH HUH! SURE! A LIKELY STORY!!" Sakura shouted. She walked a couple steps and looked around. "See I told you this was a bad idea! We're stuck inside this stupid game and have no idea where we are!"

"Well… everything seemed like such a good idea at the time… look, this isn't the time or place to play the blame game, Saki." Isaac said.

Sakura sighed. "You're right, Isaac. If we get out of this alive, I want to yell at you some more."

"…gee thanks." Isaac said, sulking.

"Anyways, I was on that planet, Kovomaka, at this Duel Academy! Then it was attacked by these weird pirate guys! And the guys I was with threw me into that weird spaceship and I blasted off into space… and that's all I remember." Sakura explained.

"Me too! Only I was in some underground cave." Isaac said. "I figure, the only way out of this crazy game is if we beat it."

"That thought crossed my mind too! And these untested games usually have glitches in them… according to Koichi anyway. So if we find a glitch or a wormhole or something, maybe we can get back to the real world!" Sakura said.

"But one thing is for sure…" Isaac added. "We cant leave this crazy game without Damian, Koichi, Michelle, or Rufus."

"Agreed!" Sakura said. "So, its settled! Lets beat this stupid game and get out of here!"

"Right! Let's do it to it!" Isaac said. And with that, a message appeared over Isaac's head, and a fanfare played out of nowhere.

_**Sakura has joined the party!**_

"… um… are we supposed to be allowed to see that?" Isaac said, looking upward.

"I REALLY don't know. I'm not really a gamer girl." Sakura said.

And with that, Isaac and Sakura began to walk forward. About almost an hour of walking, there was a wall of rocks and an opening.

"FINALLY!" Isaac said. "Thought we'd NEVER find a clue or… whatever…"

"Come on!" Sakura said as she ran into the opening in the rocks. Suddenly, a whirlpool appeared in the sand. Dungeon Worm, an large sand worm, popped out from the sand. It let out a roar and set its sights on Isaac and Sakura.

"!!!!" Sakura screamed.

"Holy crap!! It's Dungeon Worm!! And he looks so real! That's crazy-cool!" Isaac said.

"ISAAC!! THIS IS NO TIME TO BE OGGLING THE GIGANTIC PEOPLE EATING DISGUSTING WORM!!" Sakura shouted.

"Oh… right! Haha! Let's do this!" Isaac said as he activated his Duel Disk. "I summon… Celtic Guardian!!"

"And I summon… Dark Witch!!"

Celtic Guardian and Dark Witch appeared in front of Isaac and Sakura, both ready to fight. The Dungeon Worm roared, then spit an acid like fluid at the heroes.

"LOOK OUT!" Isaac shouted. The four dove in different directions.

Without wasting time, the worm locked its sights on to Sakura. It let out a shout, then dove at her.

Sakura gasped.

"Celtic Guardian!! Attack it with your steel sword!!" Isaac shouted.

Using his elf like speed, Celtic Guardian dashed in front of Sakura, just moments before it could strike her. It swung it's sword, catching the worm in the mouth. It lunged back and hollered.

Isaac threw his fist into the air. "Don't let up, man!! Slash it again!!"

Celtic Guardian ran at the worm's mid section, then delivered a powerful slash. A red field flashed around them, as a large 52 appeared over the Dungeon Worm.

Isaac grinned like a school boy. "Critical hit!! YEAH!!"

Celtic Guardian then dropped to one knee and began to pant. Isaac did the same. "Uh oh… I forgot we're linked… I think I over did it a bit."

The Dungeon Worm regained it's composure, then lunged at Celtic Guardian. It took half it it's body into it's mouth, then tried to eat the Celtic Guardian. Isaac could feel his energy draining.

"AAAAAHHHH!!!!" He moaned.

"Quick Dark Witch!!" Sakura shouted. "Use your Magical Beam! Full blast!!"

Dark Witch flew towards the slash in the Dungeon Worm and fired a magical beam, hitting the Dungeon Worm point blank. The impact caused the worm to spit out Celtic Guardian and shout again. The number 43 then appeared over the Dungeon Worm's head.

Sakura ran over to Isaac to help him up. "Hey, are you ok?" She asked.

"Yeah… just feelin a bit weak… but lets finish this thing off!" Isaac said.

"Celtic Guardian!" Isaac shouted. "Attack! One more time!"

"Dark Witch, you do the same!!" Sakura ordered.

Celtic Guardian quickly leaped from it's back to its feet (a'la Shawn Michaels) and dashed towards the Dungeon Worm. The worm spit another wad of liquid at it, but it used its speed to dodge each attack. Celtic Guardian jumped up and slashed the worm in the face. As it began it's descent, the elf slashed down, cutting the worm on it's way down.

Dark Witch powered up, then fired another magical beam at the slash where Celtic Guardian went down. The Dungeon Worm shattered as if it were destroyed in a game of Duel Monsters. Isaac and Sakura had won the battle.

"WE DID IT!!! WE WON!!!" Isaac shouted.

"WOO HOOO!!! YESS!!!" Sakura shouted.

A beeping sound emitted from their duel disks. The word "LEVEL UP" flashed on their duel disks.

"Looks like we're off to a good start, Saki!" Isaac said.

"Mm hm! I most definitely agree with you!" Sakura said.

They then called back their monsters, then put their cards back in their deck slots.

"Rest up Celtic Guardian. You did great! I'm very proud of you!" Isaac said.

"You deserve a nice rest too Dark Witch! Thank you so much!" Sakura said. She then looked at Isaac. "Yeah, that thing was gross looking!"

"I thought it was cool, looking at a real live Dungeon Worm!" Isaac said, smiling.

"You would." Sakura said. "Anyways, lets go. The way is clear!"

And with that, the two Duelists walked through the opening of the rock wall, then approached what looked like a gigantic castle. However, it looked very futuristic. Instead of being made by brick like most traditional castles, this one was made of steel. It sat on the edge of a cliff. The cliff overlooked the entire desert looking field.

"WHOA!" Isaac said. "What is this place? A factory or a castle?"

"Who knows… it could be anything, knowing those Starcrest nerds." Sakura said.

"Well, only one way to find out…" Isaac said as he started walking towards the castle.

"Are you nuts?!" Sakura said. "You're not actually planning on just waltzing in through the front door, are you!?"

Isaac stopped in his tracks. "…no…"

"DON'T YOU LIE TO ME, ISAAC MONCLAIRE!" Sakura said firmly. "I KNOW YOU HAVE THAT CRAZY LOOK ON YOUR FACE!!"

Isaac turned around with a kool-aid grin. "You know me too well, Saki!"

"I know I do!" Sakura said. "Ugh… my woman's intuition is telling me this is a bad idea… I guess I'll go too! Like you said, you don't beat a game by going backwards."

"That's the spirit!" Isaac said.

As Isaac and Sakura approached the castle, the doors opened as if they were expecting them to come. Sakura gulped, and the two of them walked inside. The doors suddenly closed behind them.

_**Meanwhile…**_

A large, secret room underneath the castle. A large robot, known as Robotic Knight sat watching a monitor. Robotic Knight was the lord of the Mechanical Castle, and overlooked everything that went on within it's steal doors. As usual, it was analyzing everything that was going on in the castle, until he saw one of the monitors. He saw Isaac and Sakura slowly entering his castle.

"… They're here. And so… the game begins."

The doors behind him opened, and another Duel Monster, Machiner's Soldier entered the room.

"Sorry to disturb you, Master," it said. "Two organic lifeforms have entered the castle."

"I am aware." Robotic Knight said. "I want them captured, by any means necessary."

"As you wish, sir." Machiner's Soldier said. It then turned and left the room.

"You're mine… Isaac! And you too, Sakura!" Robotic Knight said.

_**Back at the castle lobby…**_

Isaac and Sakura walked through the castle, looking around all the while. It was dim inside, with oil drums and conveyer belts all around. The inside of the castle looked more like a research facility.

"It's so dark in here, Isaac… I'm getting a little freaked out." Sakura said.

"It's probably abandoned in here, Sakura. Nothing to fear." Isaac said.

"Yeah right! There's probably something just waiting for it's chance to jump out at us!"

Suddenly, 2 Machiner's Soldiers and 2 Machiner's Snipers jumped out in front of them. The lights suddenly clicked on. Sakura screamed, then grabbed Isaac's arm. Isaac stood in front of his terrified companion.

"Intruders detected." One of the Machiner's Soldiers said. "Initiate annihilation protocols."

"Bring it on, you bucket of bolts!" Isaac shouted.

"Have you flipped your lid?! We're outnumbered!! Let's get out of here!!" Sakura said.

"Screw that! We can take these guys!" Isaac said, getting into a fighting position.

"WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT JUMPING INTO THINGS LIKE THIS?!" Sakura said.

"What?!" Isaac said, confused.

"This is just like in Duel Monsters!! You don't know what those things are capable of!! And if we lose… well… WHO KNOWS WHATS GONNA HAPPEN TO US!?"

Isaac growled. "Ok, fine, lets bounce!"

Isaac and Sakura turned around and began to run, but to no avail. 4 Machiner's Defenders emerged in front of them, cutting off their retreat.

"Yeah, I'm gonna file this under the category of NOT GOOD!" Isaac said.

"Intruders detected." One of the Machiner's Defender said. "Run merciless crushing program 1.3."

"Sakura." Isaac said. "Had we have stood and fight like I was ready to do, we could have maybe stood a chance… you know, against 4 robots? Now we have EIGHT to deal with!"

"SHUT UP!" Sakura said. She activated her Duel Disk, then put one of her other cards on it. "Since Dark Witch needs to rest up, I'll summon Dancing Elf!"

Isaac then activated his duel disk. "I summon Louise, the Beaver Warrior!!"

Beaver Warrior and Dancing Elf took from in front of them. Isaac and Sakura stood back to back.

"You take four, I take four?" Isaac asked.

"Mm hm!" Sakura said.

The robots all charged them at the same time. "Whoa!" Isaac shouted. "Louise!! Use your spinning sword attack!!"

Beaver Warrior nodded, then began to spin around like the Tasmanian Devil, then spun directly at the two Machiner's soldiers and snipers. The four were easily destroyed.

"Dancing Elf!! Attack with your Light Arrows!" Sakura ordered.

Dancing Elf majestically jumped up into the air and fired beams of blue light at the Defenders. Since they had such high health points, it took a few shoots, but the Defenders were destroyed!

"Phew… that was too close… good thing those ones were peons, huh?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah… hopefully all the others in this place are as weak as those ones. Come on, lets go!" Isaac said.

"You want to keep going?! What if we get attacked by something stronger?!" Sakura asked.

"Then we'll fight together like we've been doing!" Isaac said as he started to walk forward. "Now come on. Don't be such a fraidy cat."

"I AM NOT A FRAIDY CAT, ISAAC!" Sakura shouted. She then started running to catch up to him. "WAIT UP!!"

Isaac and Sakura continued to walk through the castle, noticing that the deeper they walked, the more it began to look like a factory. They eventually came to a large door. They went inside, and their mouths dropped. It was a large launch station, with computers all around the room, as well as wires and all sorts of other high tech equipment. But the eyesore of this room was a large spaceship that sat perched in the middle of the room.

The two duelists wandered over to it, looking it over.

"Check this out!" Isaac said. "This has got to be the coolest ship I've ever seen!

"Yeah… it's amazing looking alright… are you thinking what I'm thinking, Isaac?"

"That you want to kick Daniel Sims in the groin for what he did to us?"

"Well yeah, but something else… if we burrow this space ship, we can get out of this miserable place and look the galaxy over for our friends! And when I say burrow, I MEAN HOT WIRE THIS BAD BOY AND STEAL IT!!" Sakura then cleared her throat. "…But I'm sure you gathered that part already."

Isaac grinned. "WOW, Sakura! I don't think I've ever heard you talk like that before! Now I'm REALLY falling for you!"

"SHUT UP ISAAC!" Sakura said. "This isn't the time or place for your silly jokes!"

"…I was being serious…" Isaac said sheepishly.

Suddenly, an army of Machiner's Soldiers flooded into the room! Within minutes, they had Isaac and Sakura surrounded around the space ship.

"OH NO!!" Sakura shouted.

"Not you guys again!! Cant you go bother somebody else?!" Isaac said.

"Intruders detected. Run anti-spyware utility." The robots all said in unison.

"Isaac, they're too many of them. Weak or not I don't think we can last!" Sakura said.

"Sakura this is a game, remember? We can take these rust buckets, no problem!" Isaac said.

The Machiner's Soldiers began to step aside as a larger version of them approached the two duelists.

"EEK!" Sakura shrieked.

"AAHH!" Isaac shouted. "Who are you?! Wuss Robot 2.0?"

"Isaac… do you REALLY think it's a good idea to antagonize that thing?!" Sakura said in an annoyed tone.

"You are trespassers. This is robot territory." The larger robot said. "non-machines will be dealt with… and annihilated."

"Oh yeah?! Take your best shot, you overgrown washing machine!" Isaac shouted.

Sakura put on a cutesy grin. "I'll be up front with you big, strong robots… I've got NOTHING to do with this lunatic. He takes full responsibility of…"

"ELECTRO-KNUCKLE CHARGING…" The larger Machiner's Soldier said. It pointed it's fist at Isaac and Sakura, flashing and charging all the while. "READY TO FIRE!! TARGET ACQUIRED AND LOCKED!! FIRING IN T-MINUS…"

"OH MY GOD!!!" Sakura shouted.

"RUN AWAY!!" Isaac shouted.

The Robot fired it's fist, somehow managing to hit both Isaac AND Sakura. They both screamed as electricity filled their bodies. They both hit the ground unconscious.

"Master Nesbitt will be most pleased." The robot said.

_**A few moments later…**_

The Machiner's Soldier (who acted as second in command) entered the private chambers Robotic Knight again.

"Ahem… master. The intruders were apprehended moments ago. They are being held in cell block C. Awaiting further commands."

"Excellent, excellent." Robotic Knight said. "I will go down and PERSONALLY check on our guests." He stood up, then left the room, with Machiner's Soldier following not far behind.

_**Cell Block C…**_

A group of Machiner's Defenders placed Isaac in what looked like a jail cell. They crossed a bridge over a large chasm that separated the cells from the rest of the castle. A Machiner's sniper pressed a button on a computer which withdrew the bridge. This was how they kept their prisoners from escaping. Keeping them trapped on a small cell block island that was surrounded by a pit of sharp spikes. The Machiners all left the room, and a rather large robot guard marched around the cells, keeping a close eye on the prisoners. This guard had a large, long head that was similar to the Aliens from the old Aliens movies. It wielded a large sword and shield.

Isaac began to emerge as he rubbed the back of his head. "Ugh… what happened… this has got to be the most I've ever been knocked unconscious!" he said. As soon as he regained his composure, he looked around and noticed where he was. "Stupid robots… looks like they didn't plan on me getting up!" he ran, but quickly stopped in his tracks. "WHOA!" He looked down into the pit of sharp spikes. "…ok… maybe they aren't so stupid after all…" he took a couple steps back and went into thought.

"_I need to find a way out of here… and find out what they did to Sakura. Think, Isaac… you're a gamer… there has to be some kind of hint in this tiny little area…" _

Isaac began to walk around, checking every nook and cranny in the small cell. Unfortunately for him, he found nothing. It was then that the sight of the large robot caught his eye. He looked the robot up and down, then got an idea.

"_This is a long shot, but what other choice do I have? Hopefully that robot is stupider than it looks."_

Isaac ran to the edge of the cell. "HEY! HEY YOU! MICROCHIPS FOR BRAINS!! OVER HERE, YOU MORON!!"

The Mecha Bot glared over at Isaac.

"YEAH I'M TALKING TO YOU?! WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BE, ANYWAY? YOU LOOK LIKE R2-D2 ON CRACK!!"

The Mecha Bot began to shake with anger.

"OH WHAT, YOU DIDN'T LIKE THAT COMMENT, YOU WASHING MACHINE REJECT?! I BET YOUR BOYFRIEND IS C-3PO!!"

Electricity began to spark from the Mecha Bot.

"YEAH I SAID IT!! OH AND HEY! YOUR MAMA DRINKS GOVERNMENT MADE MOTOR OIL!!! AND YOUR SISTER WASHES MY CLOTHES!! OH AND LETS NOT FORGET, YOUR GRANNY WARMS UP MY DINNER EVERY NIGHT!!"

The Mecha Bot's eyes went from yellow to a blood red. It let out a large shriek and charged at Isaac. However, it fell directly into the pit, wedging it's head in between!

"HOODY HOO!!!" Isaac cheered as he jumped into the air with his fist up high. He walked on the Mecha Bot's head, using it as a bridge. He stopped in the middle and began to stomp down on it. "Thanks, rusty! That's EXACTLY what I was hoping you'd do!"

As soon as Isaac made it back to the main land, the first thing that caught his eye was the computer. He ran over and pushed a big red button. A bridge went down on the cell next to the one where Isaac was kept… the one Sakura was kept in.

Sakura sat on the ground with her head in between her legs. The sound of the bridge coming down made here look up in shock. "OMIGOSH!! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" She quickly jumped up and activated her duel disk.

Isaac walked across the bridge. "Anybody call for a hero!?"

Sakura ran over and hugged him. "YES!! YES I DID!! Thank you SO much! Did you beat that huge robot thing that was walking around?"

Isaac grinned and closed his eyes into a tight arch, anime style. "Weeeeellll, if you want to call name-calling an attack, then I wiped the floor with that thing!"

"Hahaha! What ever you say! Come on! Lets get out of here before those Machiners come back!" Sakura said.

"Right on!" Isaac said.

Isaac and Sakura ran over the bridge and towards the door. Suddenly, a loud screech sounded behind them, followed by the sound of a small explosion. The Mecha Bot suddenly landed right in front of them! Sakura screamed.

"UH… hi…" Isaac said. "Look, about those things I said to you, I was just funning around with…"

"ISAAC LOOK OUT!!" Sakura shouted as she shoved Isaac. The Mecha Bot swung his sword, narrowly missing both Duelists. Isaac and Sakura activated their duel disks.

"You're on, Celtic Guardian!"

"Help us out, Dark Witch!"

Celtic Guardian and Dark Witch appeared in front of Isaac and Sakura.

"Celtic Guardian! Attack with your steel sword!" Isaac shouted, pointing at the Mecha Bot. Celtic Guardian used it's speed and swung his blade, however, the Mecha bot attacked to. The sound of colliding steel echoed throughout the prison. They began exchanging blows, neither one letting up.

"Dark Witch! Attack while it's attention is on Celtic Guardian!" Sakura said.

The Dark Witch took to the air and fired a magical beam down at the Mecha Bot. It connected, however, the Mecha Bot took no damage.

"What?! Your attack didn't even faze that thing!" Isaac said.

"Ugh! That's right, I forgot!"

"Forgot what, Saki?"

"I forgot that Machine type monsters have magic resilient armor! I'm afraid I cant help you, Isaac."

The Mecha Bot suddenly kicked Celtic Guardian in the stomach, then smashed it in the face with it's shield. Isaac held his stomach with his arm, then his face with his hand.

"Uh oh... Isaac!" Sakura said. She comforted Isaac, then looked at the Mecha Bot as it marched toward the downed Celtic Guardian.

"This isn't good!" she said. "…wait… what's that?"

There was a small door looking compartment on the back of the Mecha Bot.

Sakura grinned. "Hey Isaac… get yourself together! I got an idea! Have Celtic Guardian keep that thing busy for like a minute, ok?"

"Wh-what are you doing?" Isaac asked.

"Just trust me!"

"O-ok!" Isaac said. He got himself off the ground. "Celtic Guardian! Super Slash!"

Celtic Guardian quickly rolled out of the way as the Mecha Bot brought it's sword down. It jumped up and slashed at the Mecha Bot, however, the attack didn't faze it. Celtic Guardian continued to assault the Mecha Bot as it tried to pull it's sword out of the ground.

Sakura snuck behind the Mecha Bot, and leaped up to try to reach the tiny door on it's back. Dark Witch flew by and lifted her up. "Thank you." She said quietly. She opened the door, revealing a field of wires and chips.

"Ok Dark Witch! Jam your staff into those circuits!" Sakura said.

Dark Witch nodded, then set Sakura down. It then flew back up and reared back and thrusted her staff into the circuits of the Mecha Bot!

The Mecha Bot began to tweak out as it shook uncontrollably and electricity flowing everywhere it began to screech loudly, until it suddenly shut down.

"YES!! I AM SOOOO A GENIUS!!" Sakura cheered as she did a little jig.

Isaac ran over to her. "HAHA!!! NOBODY MESSES WITH SAKURA… OR ME!!"

"Got that right!" Sakura said.

Isaac suddenly looked up. "Huh?"

A mole looking creature stood in a window, watching the whole thing. As it noticed Isaac and Sakura looking at it, it turned and ran off.

"Hey what was that?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know but it seems to know a way out of here!" Isaac said.

"But wait, what about that rocket we saw earlier?"

"We'll come back when the heat dies down!"

"Good thinking! Let's go!"

Isaac called back Celtic Guardian, and Dark Witch lifted Isaac and Sakura then few clear through the window and out of the Castle.

"I am SO glad we're out of there!" Sakura said. "I mean, I know we have to go back to that creepy place, but still!"

"Well for now, lets find that creature." Isaac said.

A few moments after Isaac and Sakura's jail break. Robotic Knight and Machiner's Soldier entered the room. Robotic Knight walked towards the cells, then looked over at the downed Mecha Bot and the broken window.

"THEY ESCAPED?!"

"It would appear so, master…" Machiner's soldier said.

"Grrr… I want them found IMMEDIATELY!!!" Robotic Knight roared.

"Affirmative."

Machiner's Soldier turned and ran out the room.

"… Sims will throw a fit if he finds out I let those kids slip through my fingers!" Robotic Knight said.

_**Back outside…**_

Isaac and Sakura walked along a valley, looking around. Sakura let out a sigh. "I'm really worried about Koichi and Michelle and Damian and Rufus. I hope they're alright. Things just aren't going well for us."

Isaac stood in front of her and took her hands. "They will be. They're strong enough to take care of themselves. Right now, we have to stay focused and get through this. We'll wait til night fall, storm that castle and hot wire that space ship just like you said. Since we know what we're dealing with now, we'll just get in, get out."

Sakura smiled a little. "You always know what to say to make me feel better."

Isaac moved in slowly, attempting to kiss Sakura. Suddenly something caught her eye. "HEY!" she shouted as she moved past Isaac.

"OH YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!"

Sakura saw the mole looking creature from the castle. It ran and dove in a hole in the ground.

"Isaac, that's that thing! Should we go after it?" Sakura asked.

"Well I don't see any other choice at the moment. Come on." Isaac said.

The two Duelists walked over to the hole and jumped down. They landed inside a well lit cavern. It was a long hall that led to a large door. Isaac and Sakura looked at each other and nodded. They began to walk towards the door. The mole jumped out, shocking them.

"HOLD IT!" it said. "This is the kingdom of the Spiny Moles, and you are NOT welcome! So hop on back to where you came from!"

"No." Isaac said.

"No?! NO!? … ah, well at least I tried, right? Go on through." The spiny mole said as it stepped aside.

Isaac and Sakura looked at each other and smiled, then proceeded through the door. It was a whole community of Spiny Moles that swarmed the inside of the cavern! They lived everyday lives in a large city in a cave. Inner caves served as homes and shops. Others were digging, trading, roaming around, talking amongst one another. It didn't take long for Isaac and Sakura to feel out of place.

"… you don't think these things are gonna… you know, eat us… do you?" Sakura asked.

Something caught Isaac's attention out the corner of his eye. He looked over to see a couple moles sitting at a dining table. One took a large bite out of a medium sized rock. The other one gulped down a spoonful of worms.

Isaac shuddered. "I most certainly hope not!"

The two of them walked around the city. They noticed that some of the moles looked at them and began talking about them behind their backs.

"_Are THEY the ones?"_

"_They have to be! They're HUMANS, aren't they?"_

"_I guess. They sure are weird looking enough to be humans."_

"Isaac." Sakura said, in a suspicious tone. "They're… talking about us… and they're looking at us. I don't feel comfortable here."

Suddenly another mole appeared in front of them. "Hey." It said. "I heard a couple of Duelists escaped from that robot castle. Was it you two?"

"Yes it was. Why?" Isaac asked. "You aren't going to narc on us, are you?"

"Narc?" The mole asked. "I don't know what that means, but we know all about your jail break! EVERYBODY'S talking about it!"

"For reals?" Isaac said, surprised. "News sure does travel fast in this place."

"We don't really know what's going on." Sakura explained. "We're just trying to find our friends. Where are we?"

"Where are you?" The mole asked, tilting it's small head to the side. "You're on Erd! The earth planet! I'm sure you've heard of it! You know, home of the world famous Spiny Moles?"

Isaac and Sakura stood there, puzzled. It was then that it hit them.

"AH!" Isaac said. "Sakura! Remember that video we watched right before the game went haywire?"

"I sure do!" Sakura said. "Erd is one of those planets! So then that explains it!"

"Yeah, we have a legend," The mole said, interrupting the two duelists. "It says when we have eaten all the worms in the earth, heroes will descend from the heavens and deliver us to a worm filled paradise!" the mole then began to drool uncontrollably. "Ooooo… excuse me! It makes me drool just thinking about it!"

Isaac and Sakura both had disgusted looks on their faces.

"GROSS!" Sakura said. "Wait wait… are you saying WE are those legendary heroes??"

"Exactly! I mean, you are, aren't you?" the mole asked.

"Um… I'm not so sure about that." Sakura said.

"Well… maybe you should see our king. He's been waiting for you all to arrive for quite some time now! We all have actually. Come on!" the mole said.

"Yeah, sure." Isaac said.

And with that, the mole took Isaac and Sakura through the Spiny Mole village towards the back, where the largest inner cave of all dwelled. These were the chambers of the king of the Spiny Moles. He resided there with the Chancellor. As the mole explained, they had been waiting for legendary heroes to appear for some reason. But why? Isaac and Sakura would soon find out all about it.

As the trio entered the room, the mole told the king about the new visitors. He seemed to be on pins and needles upon hearing the news. The Chancellor appeared to be pretty giddy himself.

"What's got them so worked up?" Sakura asked.

"Seems you and I are regular celebrities!" Isaac said.

"Of course we are. Were like three feet taller than everyone here, and lets not forget, they're MOLES!"

The mole walked up to them. "Kay, the King will see you now!"

Isaac and Sakura approached the rather chunky king, who sat in his throne. He appeared to be fat, but as they grew closer, his girth was rather solid. He was pretty agile for a hefty mole. The Chancellor was an older gentleman who looks as wise as he is older. He looks as if he served a long line of kings.

"AH, my friends!" Then king boomed in a welcoming voice. "Welcome to Peatmoss! Capital of the Spiny Mole Empire!"

"Mole empire?" Sakura asked. "You mean there's more of you moles roaming around this planet?"

"Moles?! HOW DARE YOU?!" The Chancellor wailed. "We're SPINY moles! Can you not see?! And you are addressing his royal majesty, King Gorgonzola! The thirteenth king of the Spiny Mole dynasty!"

Sakura had a blank look on her face. "_Joseph Sims has WAY too much time on his hands!!"_

"What our Chancellor says is true." King Gorgonzola said. "I am King Gorgonzola De Formaggio, thirteenth king of this mighty mole monarchy! Judging by your appearance, you are not from this planet. And judging by the fact that you escaped from the robot's prison… Chancellor! Could these young Duelists be prophesied to appear at the time of the Great Perishing? Are these the ones sent to bring salvation to our world?!"

"Oh Indubitably! Your Majesty!" The Chancellor said, nodding. "No doubt they are the heroes of prophecy! The ones who will come to us in doomy times!"

"Doomy times?" Isaac said, confused.

The Chancellor cleared his old, raspy throat. "The story is very well known to our people. You see, when doom comes to our world, heroes from another planet will save us. You, my young friends, are from another planet. And now, I fear, is indeed the end we have feared for so long. Once we had many duelists living in this kingdom, but the robots have taken them all away, made prisoners of them. And our earthworm harvest has dwindled."

"Heroes?!" Sakura said with shock. "But we aren't even supposed to BE here! It's an accident that we're even here in the first place! We're trying to find our friends and get out of this crazy game!"

"SAKURA!" Isaac said.

The king and the chancellor both shot Sakura a confused look.

"OPPS! I MEAN our rockets crash landed here by accident and we're marooned here!" Sakura said, covering up her last comment.

"Such humility! It speaks well of great heroes that you do not even see your own greatness. You want to find your friends, and yet you have no ship… and so you want to help us, so that we might help you, yes?" The Chancellor said.

"What? Wait… no… that's not what I meant at all!" Sakura said.

"Don't be so pessimistic, space heroes!" The King said. "We are certain that you will find your way into space in due time. Yes, all in due time! Chancellor! Fetch us the books!"

"With all haste, your clawfulness!" The Chancellor said. With that, he dashed off towards the small library to the right of the throne. He returned seconds later holding two large hardbound books. One was all black with the symbol of darkness found on Duel Monsters cards, with the other one was all white with the symbol of light embedded on it. "Here… you… are…" he said as he huffed and puffed from the running he did.

"The prophecy is written in two books… the Book of Darkness and the Book of Light. Chancellor. Read to us the book of Darkness." The king explained.

The Chancellor set down the Book of Light down, then then caught his breath, then opened the Book of Darkness. "Ahem! 'In doomy times…'" the Chancellor suddenly looked up at Isaac, Sakura, and King Gorgonzola. "That's how the best books of prophecy always seem to begin don't you know? Allow me to read on!" He looked back down at the book. "'In doomy times, saviors will appear from a far off planet and end the reign of the ant queen with the power of Duel Monsters.'"

"The Ant Queen?" Isaac asked.

"Yes, the scourge of our people. The Ant Queen. She has harried over our kind for far too long, and must be stopped. This is the favor we must ask of you! Vanquish the ant queen! Will you accept our request, space heroes!?" the King pleaded.

Isaac gave a serious nod. "Yeah. We'll help you out."

"We will?!" Sakura said, shocked by his answer.

A huge grin wiped across King Gorgonzola's face. "Ah! You have our gratitude!"

"Excuse us." Sakura muttered as she pulled Isaac back a few steps. "Isaac. Did you not hear that whole bit about 'scourge of our people'? Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am. Come on, you don't beat a video game by running around in circles or going backwards. If these moles know how we can find our friends, or get off this dusty rock for that matter, I say we do whatever it takes." Isaac explained to his friend.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess you are Mr. Video Game. Ok, lets do it before I start having second thoughts."

Isaac and Sakura walked back to the King and the Chancellor.

"The Book of Darkness also says," The Chancellor said. "The heroes will lead the spiny moles to a wormy paradise. But the heroes' journey will not end. They will continue on to greater deeds."

"Did you just say 'wormy paradise'?" Sakura asked. "I didn't think it was remotely possible to even combine those two words."

"The heroes will defeat a most villainous evil. The Spiny Moles will be at their side when that moment comes!" The king said proudly.

"But you WILL help us sooner or later, right? Fine. I guess we just have to take your word for it." Sakura said, with a sigh in her voice.

"Thank you, O shorter of the two heroes! Now tend to the ant queen… for it is your destiny!" The King said with glee.

"… I am NOT short!" Sakura said.

Isaac began to chuckle. Sakura quickly punched him in the arm.

"Rightly spoken, your majesty!" The chancellor said. "But they may need time to make whatever preparations they deem necessary!"

"Ah, yes! I knew there was a reason we kept you around, Chancellor! You are an ever gushing fountain of wisdom! The heroes shall prepare in our village, while we travel to the digging site and await their arrival on the outskirts of the village!" The king announced.

With that, the king and the Chancellor left the throne room. It didn't take long for a trio of Spiny Moles to come and take Isaac and Sakura to an inn to rest. The beds were cushy (seeing as how they were rectangular boxes fill with grass) but they were able to sleep. They went through the town after waking up, but unfortunately the Spiny Moles didn't have any Duel Monster cards, so the duo was unfortunately stuck with the default cards they started with.

"_Looks like Sims really went out of his way to put us at a disadvantage." _Isaac thought.

When he and Sakura were ready, the moles lead them to the digging grounds that went through a large tunnel from the east of Peatmoss. They rendezvous with the king and the chancellor, who told them to follow the dark caverns to the very end. This was the nesting ground of the Ant Queen and her clan. And soon, our heroes were off! They both carried torches to see through the caves.

"Man… I wonder what this thing looks like." Isaac said, trying to break the silence.

"Big. Ugly. Nasty. Typical monster." Sakura said back. "Lets get this over with so we can get out of this god forsaken place."

The two kept walking til they eventually came to a clearing. But it was very dark, and they couldn't see anything unless they walked deeper.

"I have a BAD feeling about this, Isaac." Sakura said.

Suddenly there was sounds of hissing. Numerous sounds. This didn't put Sakura's nerves at ease in the least.

"I've got an idea." Isaac said quietly. He was about to throw his torch into the center of the clearing, until he caught a glimpse of what looked like burned out torch on the wall. He walked over and lit it with his, and within moments, the dark cave had light! And it was then that Isaac and Sakura noticed that they were surrounded by giant ants!

Sakura's eyes grew three times their normal size. It didn't take long for here to let out an ear bleeding scream.

"GOOD GRIEF!!" Isaac shouted.

One of the ants dove at Sakura. Isaac ran in and swung his torch at it, burning it at turning it into a moving fireball. As it ran around the room, screaming, a chain reaction soon started. It collided with the others, soon catching them on fire too.

"GO CELTIC GUARDIAN!!" Isaac shouted as he slapped a card on his duel disk.

"GO DANCING ELF!!" Sakura shouted, doing the same thing.

The monsters appeared and began attacking the burning ants! Within moments, the ants were all turned to cinders and ashes.

The ground then began to shake. Isaac, Sakura, Celtic Guardian, and Dancing Elf looked around.

"Looks like that was just the calm before the storm…" Isaac said.

It was then that something far worse than the giant ants appeared, staring down the heroes. It was even bigger than the ants. It looked just liked them, only it wore a crown, and it's backside was like a giant slug.

"EW EW EW EW EW!!!!!" Sakura shouted.

"The ant queen, I assume?!" Isaac said.

The Ant Queen turned and it's slug like backside rose up. It's tail looked like a trunk of an elephant. It shot out four eggs. They quickly hatched into more giant ants.

"OH GEEZ!" Isaac said. "What in the blue hell are we dealing with here!?"

"Dancing Elf!" Sakura shouted. "ATTACK!"

Dancing Elf began to shoot light arrows at the ants, stunning them. It kept attacking until the ants were destroyed.

The ant queen followed up, firing out more eggs, and each of them hatching into more ants, who immediately attacked.

This time it was Celtic Guardian's turn. It ran in and hacked and slashed the ants as they got closer.

This process repeated, until Isaac began to observe the ant queen. _"I have to attack the queen… otherwise this battle will be one long repetitive cycle… just gotta wait for it…"_

Dancing Elf destroyed the last ant, and the Ant Queen reared back.

"NOW!! CELTIC GUARDIAN!! ATTACK… WHATEVEVER THAT THING IS… THAT SUCTION!" Isaac shouted.

Celtic Guardian charged in, jumped up, and sliced off the hose, dropping it to the ground with a loud thud.

The Ant Queen screamed, forcing Isaac and Sakura to cover their ears.

The queen got mad and fired acid, hitting Celtic Guardian. Isaac screamed, as it felt like someone had just poured lava on his arms. He quickly recalled Celtic Guardian.

"Ok… now I done just got pissed off!" He said. "Your going down you disgusting bug!! COME ON OUT BEAVER WARRIOR!!"

Beaver Warrior appeared and ready for action as it gripped it's small sword.

"I equip Beaver Warrior with Legendary Sword!" Isaac said as he inserted a Spell Card into the Spell/Trap Zone.

The Ant Queen began to fire more acid at the small warrior. It nimbly jumped out of the way and began running towards the queen.

Dancing Elf suddenly jumped up and began to fire light arrows, catching the queen off guard by hitting her in the face. It screamed again, flailing its scepter every which way. It forgot all about the Beaver Warrior, who jumped up and began to hack and slash at the unsuspecting queen. It's energy began to drop dramatically, thanks to the Legendary Sword upgrade.

"Don't stop, Dancing Elf!!" Sakura shouted. She dropped to one knee. "KEEP THOSE ARROWS COMING!!"

Beaver Warrior landed on the ground. It looked back at Isaac with a fierce grin.

"This is it, Louise!" Isaac shouted. "Deliver the finishing blow!"

Dancing Elf began charging up an attack. Beaver Warrior jumped up with all its agility and reared its sword high over its head. Dancing Elf aimed its attack at Beaver Warrior's sword and fired. The sword began to glow a gorgeous emerald color. Beaver Warrior gripped its sword as tightly as it could, then slashed the queen with all it's might! The ant queen gave one last blood curdling scream as the magic from Dancing Elf flowed through its body. The queen began to slowly glow a bright white light, then exploded!

Isaac and Sakura shielded themselves as green globs flew every which way!

The heroes all stood tall! The ant queen was defeated.

"YES!!! HOODY HOOO!!!!" Isaac shouted as he jumped up and threw his fist into the air. He ran over and hugged Beaver Warrior. "That was awesome!" He said happily. "For a little guy, you sure do pack a punch!"

Beaver Warrior smile proudly, then disappeared. Since the battle was over, he was no longer needed. The same happened to Dancing Elf.

It was then that a warm feeling surged through Isaac and Sakura. Surprisingly, the goo from the ant queen didn't get them

"That… felt good." Sakura said.

Isaac looked at his duel disk. The words "LEVEL UP" flashed on it. "So that's what that was!" he said happily. It was then that one of the caps on both of their duel disks suddenly popped off. Isaac and Sakura now had another monster and spell/trap zone to work with.

"AWESOME!! NOT ONLY DID WE LEVEL UP BUT NOW WE CAN SUMMON TWO MONSTERS!!" Isaac cheered.

"Id be happy too if I didn't see a giant bug EXPLODE in front of my very eyes!" Sakura said.

"Come on! Let's go back and tell King Gorgonzola." Isaac said.

"Yes… lets get out of here before I start to gag!" Sakura said.

As they began to leave, Isaac noticed something on the ground. Sakura turned to see him walking a different direction. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I think the ant queen dropped something when it died." Isaac said. The two walked over to what looked like a pair of gloves found at the bottom of the ocean. They were really disgusting looking, and they had sharp claws on the fingers.

"EWW!! WHAT… WHAT ARE THOSE?!" Sakura asked. "THEY LOOK SO NASTY!!"

"I don't know… it doesn't look like the queen's hands… thank Slifer…" Isaac said. "Maybe we should take it with us?"

"EW, are you serious?! You're crazy!!" She said.

"It may be nasty, Saki, but we might need… whatever this is…" He looked at her and grinned. "Come pick them up."

"DO YOU WANT ME TO SLAP THE TASTE OUT YOUR MOUTH?!?!" Sakura shouted.

"I was kidding!" Isaac laughed. He set his backpack down, grabbed a nearby stick, and began to scoop the gloves into his bag. Once that was done, he and Sakura made their way back to Peatmoss, and eventually arrived back at the throne room. A look of glee passed over King Gorgonzola and the Chancellor's faces as they entered the throne room. Isaac told them all about their epic battle, and that sealed the deal with the two of them.

"OH HO HO HOHO!!!" The King chuckled. "You have vanquished our most hated enemy, the Ant Queen! There is little left to do but to declare you the mighty hero, Isaac!"

"AND WHAT AM I?!" Sakura shouted. "He wasn't the only one risking his life out there, you know!!"

"OH HO HO HO HO!!" The king laughed again. "Worry not my young friend! For you two are a mighty hero! Sakura the Mighty!"

She smiled. "That's better!"

"Allow us to extend our most sincerest thanks!" The Chancellor said.

"Tell me…" The King said. "Did that foul queen have something on her… personage?"

Isaac and Sakura looked confused.

"Wait… that nasty looking glove?" Sakura asked.

Isaac took off his backpack and walked up to the throne and showed it to the King.

"Could it be?! Have you recovered the great digging tool of legend?! You have! These are the diggy claws! One knows the legends, of course, but one never truly believes that such a thing could exist… but here it is!" The King said in all happiness.

"WHAT are the Diggy Claws?" Sakura asked.

"Allow me to explain!" The Chancellor said. "Spiny moles are excellent diggers in soft soil, but even we have trouble when it comes to hard soil and rock. We've dug everywhere we could on this planet. We've dug up every last worm that could be found in the softer soil."

"The diggy claws are the answer! With these, burrowing through solid rock is a breeze! Indeed a joy! But they are only useful in the hands of a spiny mole! But… you did fight so very hard to retrieve the diggy claws. Go on… take them." The King said, with a bit of sadness in his voice.

Isaac and Sakura gave each other a grossed out look.

"No, we really couldn't." Isaac said.

"Yeah, you're the ones who are so crazy about worms… you can have them." Sakura added.

"HA-ZA! Did you hear that, Chancellor!! They refused our kingly reward! Do you think that, perhaps, they truly are…"

"There can be no doubt! They are indeed the heroes foretold in the Book of Light!" The Chancellor said. He ran over to the coffee table where the Books of Darkness and Light sat, and he picked up the book of light.

"Read, man! Read!" The King said.

"Ahem!" The Chancellor said, clearing his throat. "'After forming a bond of friendship with the spiny moles, the heroes selflessly refused the king's reward, caring not for their own happiness and thinking only of the well-being of the spiny moles. And then… the heroes'…aw wa wa wa wa wa…"

"Keep reading! I can feel time… nay, history itself on a cusp!" The King said.

The Chancellor continued. "'They will release the sleeping planets from their curse and will then depart for new horizons aboard a ship of light… all dreams of all men shall come true at that moment.' That's so moving! So poignant!"

"Heroes! You mentioned you were looking for your friends, did you not? Now, its our turn to help you as you have helped us! You are to journey to new horizons, or so the legend says. And so, we will do whatever it takes to send you to new worlds!" The King said.

"I understand a rocket lies dormant in the center of the robot castle, deep in the innards of this planet. The robot castle center around a tower of great power. When the tower lost its power, the spaceship became dormant and slept. The only thing that can wake it is the star buried in the Land Where The Stars Sleep. While I know few details of this legend, I am sure you will be able to unravel the mystery on your own." The Chancellor said.

The King stood from his throne. "Great hero Isaac! Great hero Sakura! Grant these regal claws the opportunity to help you. We shall dig you a hole to the Land Where The Stars Sleep ourselves! Would that we could do more to repay our people's debt to you? We shall begin at once! To the digging grounds!"

"Sure!" Isaac said. He opened his bag again and gave the king the diggy claws. Isaac and Sakura followed the King and the chancellor, to the digging grounds. This time it was to the west of Peatmoss. More than half the town came along as well. They wanted to help the Duelists who saved them from the ant queen!

They reached the end of the line. It was a sheet of solid rock, that even the most powerful drill couldn't penetrate on its own.

"By your leave, majesty! Not to question the power of your claws, but are you feeling well enough to do this? For you are not as fit as you were in the olden days." The Chancellor asked.

"Ah, my trusted advisor. You've nothing to fear! For we have the diggy claws now!" The king responded.

"Where you lead, we will follow, your majesty!" The chancellor said, ready to dig.

"We'll go too, your highness!" one of the other spiny moles said.

"By all means, my friends! Let's go together!" The king said. And with that, they all lined up behind the king. Equipped with the diggy claws, the king plowed through the solid rock wall like a hot knife through frozen butter.

"Far out!" Isaac said.

"Come on!" Sakura said.

They followed the moles through the tunnels they were digging. Ten minutes later, they reached an area which lead to the surface.

"These diggy claws are as fabulous as the legends say! We can claw through solid granite like it was nothing but so much as creamy cheese! There's nowhere we cant dig! Allow me to extend a most regal thank-you!" The King said, beaming with happiness.

"Wow, look at the twinkle in his eye." Sakura said smiling. "He must REALLY like digging!"

"Of course, Saki!" Isaac said. "They are mo… Spiny Moles, after all."

The tribe of moles gave Isaac and Sakura a dozen Duel Monsters cards.

"Hey! What's this?" Isaac asked, smiling.

"We found these while we were digging!" One of the moles said.

"And we thought you could use them, so we saved them for you!" another one said.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you so much!"

"Now not only can we summon two monsters, but now we've got more monsters to work with!" Isaac said.

Everyone was happy!

"Our most royal appreciations, heroes!" The king said. "Climb up here, and you should reach the Land Where The Stars Sleep. We did not fully believe the minister when he first told us of your coming. But when you brought us the diggy claws we had no choice but to believe. You will achieve something great. You may well save our worlds from dark times. To you, we may seem nothing more than just naïve underground diggers, but that does not matter. To us you are heroes. And we will tell our future generations of the heroes named Isaac and Sakura!"

Isaac and Sakura smiled.

"I'm… I'm so sad…" The Chancellor said.

"Do not cry Chancellor! Let us send them off with a hero's farewell! Ha-za!" The King said.

And with that, Isaac and Sakura said their goodbyes to their new friends, then headed out of the cave. As they walked, they could hear the cheers of the Spiny Moles:

"_Heroes!! Have a good one!"_

"_Good luck on your journey!"_

"_Have a safe trip, Isaac!"_

"_And you too, Sakura!"_

"You know," Isaac said. "I'm actually truly sad. I mean I know they're just video game sprites and all, but they seem so… so…"

"Real?" Sakura said.

"Yeah." Isaac said.

"I feel the same way. They helped us because we helped them. They aren't as bad as I thought. But now we have to remember what's on the line. We have to find our friends and beat this game." Sakura said.

"That's right! So lets get to the Land Where The Stars Sleep!" Isaac said.

Another cave lied at the end of the sandy wastelands of Erd. They entered the cave and as usual, it was dark.

"Man, I cant see a foot in front of my face!" Isaac said.

Sakura reached into her bag and pulled out a small flashlight. They walked through the cave til the end. It was darker than the ant queen's dwelling. Sakura held herself. "Oooo… it feels so… big… and cold."

"Hey, look at that… over there." Isaac said, pointing. Sakura pointed her flashlight at what Isaac was pointing at. It looked like a large tower with propellers sticking out.

"Is that a… windmill?" Sakura asked.

"Looks like it." Isaac said.

"Hey look at that!" Sakura said. It looked like a large machine in the distance. "I've got an idea. Come on out, Dark Witch!"

Sakura summoned her Dark Witch, which took to the air once it was summoned. "Dark Witch, you see that machine over there? Hit it with your magical beam, ok?"

Dark Witch nodded, then charged her attack.

"Hmmm…" Isaac thought.

Dark Witch fired it's attack, hitting the machine point blank. It sparked. It sparked three more times. Then its began to turn on. The large windmill slowly began to spin. A large roar echoed throughout the cave. The windmill spun faster and faster, til the cave began to illuminate! The innards of the cave looked like the Electrical Parade at Disneyland! Carnival like music even began to play!

"Right on, Sakura!!" Isaac said. "The stars are no longer sleeping!"

"SO PRETTY!!" Sakura said as she happily looked around the cave.

Now that the stars no longer slept, power returned to the Robot Castle. It began to get lively again.

About a 45 minutes later. Isaac and Sakura found themselves back at the Robot Castle.

"Well… here we are again…" Isaac said.

"Isaac I don't think this is a good idea. Remember what happened the last time we were here?! We got thrown in jail! Almost killed by a massive robot!" Sakura said.

"Yeah, but this time we know where we're going! This is the plan. We're going to storm the castle, head straight to that room where we saw that spaceship, and take off before they even know were there! And now that we can summon an extra monster, we have a better chance at survival!" Isaac explained.

"I really hope you're right, Isaac." Sakura said.

"Do you trust me?" Isaac asked.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

"… of course I do. I've always trusted you."

"Then let's do it to it!"

Isaac turned and kicked the door open. "CHAAAAAAARRRGGGGEEEE!!!!"

He and Sakura dashed through the now lively and loud castle. The Machiners noticed them coming and began attacking. They covered their heads as bullets flew past them. Machiner's Defenders guarded the doors. Machiners Soldiers began to approach in large groups.

"I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN!" Sakura said.

"OK! NOW ITS TIME TO FIGHT OUR WAY THROUGH!" Isaac said.

"I SUMMON DANCING ELF AND DARK WITCH!!" Sakura shouted. Her two monsters appeared in front of her.

"I SUMMON CELTIC GUARDIAN AND KURIBOH!!" Isaac shouted.

"…Kuriboh?" Sakura asked.

The four monsters appeared in front of them.

"Next I'll play the spell card, Multiply!" Isaac shouted. An army of Kuriboh began appearing. "Kuriboh have a special ability! They explode on contact! So if I can get an explosion out of one… just think of what I can do with one hundred!! GO KURIBOH!! TACKLE EM!!"

The Kuriboh grew angree and koo-ed, then dashed at all the robots, exploding on contact! The explosions wasn't enough to destroy the Machiners, but it was enough to stun them long enough for Isaac, Sakura, and the other monsters to run through. More and more Kuriboh kept appearing after one exploded.

"Wow, Isaac! I'm impressed! You really HAVE been studying! I cant believe you remembered that!" Sakura said, smiling.

"Impressed enough to let me take you on a date?"

"Keep dreaming."

"…damn."

Isaac and Sakura bulldozed their way through the army of Machiner's Soldiers, Defenders, and Snipers thanks to Isaac's exploding Kuribohs. Celtic Guardian, Dancing Elf, and Dark Witch destroyed the remaining robots the Kuriboh army left behind.

"Come on, Saki! We're almost there!!" Isaac said.

As soon as they turned the corner, they stopped in their tracks! A large army of Machiner's soldiers blocked the next door. At the front line stood Robotic Knight.

"Oh no… you have got to be kidding me…" Isaac said.

Sakura gasped.

"Well it looks like the rats came back to play while thinking the cat was away." Robotic Knight said.

Another squad of Machiners appeared from the rear. Isaac and Sakura were trapped.

"Man… talk about being trapped between a rock and a hard place…" Sakura said, looking around. She soon grew teary eyed.

"I knew if I waited long enough, you would come back for that space ship." Robotic Knight said. "Once power returned to this place I knew then and there it was only a matter of time. Now I'll destroy you! And scatter your data bits all over cyber space!"

"Excuse me?!" Isaac said.

"You heard me! You can try to fight, but as you can see, we have you completely outnumbered! Why not just surrender, and I promise to make your deaths as painful… er, less, as possible?" Robotic Knight taunted.

"Isaac, what do we do? They have us completely surrounded! Not even your Kuriboh Army can blow their way throw this army of robots!" Sakura said, fear written all over her pretty face.

"I don't worry Saki… somehow I knew something like this was going to happen. Listen very carefully. I want you to to take Celtic Guardian and my Kuriboh army and head for that space ship. I'll have the Kuribohs blast you an opening, and you just go. Don't stop."

"Wait, what about you?!"

"I'm gonna slow that Robotic Knight down long enough for us to get out of here!"

"Have you flipped your lid, Isaac?! If your monsters go with me, how will you fight? No, I'll stay and fight with you!"

"I thought you said you trusted me."

"I do, but…"

"Then get to that space ship! Don't worry about me. I promise you, I'll join you as soon as I deal with Robo thug over there!"

Sakura nodded. "Ok… good luck! And don't you dare lose… or you'll have ME to deal with!" She quickly kissed him on the cheek, causing him to grin brightly.

"Well?" Robotic Knight asked. "Are you ready to DIE?"

"GO KURIBOH!!" Isaac shouted.

The Kuriboh army koo-ed, then blasted through the left side of the Machiners, where they were guarding the door. Dark Witch, Dancing Elf, and Celtic Guardian attacked their way through the stunned robots, clearing a path for Sakura! As soon as she ran through, she looked back at Isaac, wiping a tear from her eye. She looked back ahead and followed the monsters.

Isaac got into a fighting position. Robotic Knight laughed. "Aren't you noble! Allowing your little girlfriend a few extra minutes of life! All you're doing is prolonging your eventual demise!"

"Dream on! I'm gonna take you down, then I'm gonna catch up to her and get off this planet! The accommodations are terrible! I am definitely giving this place a bad online review!" Isaac said.

"Take me down?! BWA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! And just how do you plan to do that? You sent your monsters with that girl!!"

"I don't need monsters to deal with the likes of you, you fake ass Voltron!" Isaac then grew angry. "I'm gonna fight you with MY BARE HANDS!"

Robotic Knight pointed it's gun arm at Isaac. "I'LL BE SURE TO CARVE THAT ON YOUR TOMBSTONE, YOU LITTLE FOOL!!" He fired a barrage of bullets at Isaac!

"GOTCHA!!" Isaac shouted. "GO MIRROR FORCE!!"

A mirror appeared in front of Isaac, ricocheting the attack right back at Robotic Knight!

"WHAT?!" it shouted. It then shielded itself from the bullets, which was twice the impact from Isaac's Mirror Force. It was enough to knock Robotic Knight off it's feet.

Isaac quickly took out Mirror Force out of the spell/trap zone and played another card. A large black dome like cage appeared around Robotic Knight. Once it got up, it looked around angered. It began firing more attacks, but it was absorbed by the steel fencing.

"Grrrr… WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS?!?!" Robotic Knight shouted.

"This," Isaac said grinning. "Is Nightmare Steelcage! In Duel Monsters it prevents the opponent from attacking for two turns, but in this world, I see it only lasts for two minutes. Like I said, plenty of time for me to catch up to Sakura!" he then turned and began to leave. "Take care, Rusty!"

"YOU ARROGANT LITTLE PUNK!! WHEN I GET OUT OF THIS CONFOUNDED CAGE, THEYRE GOING TO NEED A CHISEL TO SCRAPE THE PIECES OF YOU OFF THESE WALLS!!" Robotic Knight shouted. He then pushed a button on its arm, and an alarm blared throughout the castle. Machiner's Soldiers began appearing by the dozen again, chasing Isaac. It didn't take long for them to catch up to him.

Isaac turned to see the oncoming threat. It made his blood run cold. He began to run faster throughout the castle. "Ok… maybe I should have kept Celtic Guardian with me!!" He said.

Back in the front, Sakura and the Duel Monsters were getting closer and closer to the spaceship.

"I wonder if Isaac is ok…" She said to herself.

"SAKURAAAAA!!!"

She turned around to see Isaac running at full speed at her. "HEEELLLLPPPPP!!!!"

"Uh oh! Hey! Celtic Guardian! I think you better help your master!" She said.

Celtic Guardian turned and dashed past Isaac and took out the Machiner's Soldiers one by one. It then turned back and ran with Isaac.

"Thanks Celtic Guardian! I owe you one!!" He said gratefully.

"Isaac! There it is!" Sakura said, pointing at the large door ahead of them.

"GREAT! LETS GO!!" Isaac said.

They busted through the door, and Isaac, Celtic Guardian, and Dancing Elf pushed it closed. Sakura grabbed a lead rod and stuck it into the handles, barring it closed.

"That wont hold them for long!" She said.

"Hopefully it'll be long enough for us to learn how to turn this thing on!" Isaac said. They all ran to the medium sized space ship and closed the doors. The monsters were all recalled, and Isaac ran to the control panel. He began to immediately start pushing buttons. "COME ON! COME ON! WHERES THE BLAST OFF BUTTON!?"

Sakura ran and locked the door to the rocket.

Suddenly, another robot appeared. This one was small and box like. It was a friendly robot. It seemed to be connected to the ship.

"HELLO. WELCOME ABOARD THE STARSHIP EXCALIBUR. I AM DEXTER, YOUR ONBOARD NAVIGATIONAL COMPUTER. WHAT IS YOUR COMMAND, MASTER?"

"Get us out of here! Pronto!" Isaac said.

**BOOM!!**

The doors blew open and Machiners began to flood the room! An angry Robotic Knight entered last, along with the Mechabot from earlier.

"ISAAC!! WE'RE OUT OF TIME!!" Sakura shouted. "THEY'RE HERE!!"

"UNDERSTOOD. WHAT IS YOUR DESTINATION?"

"I DON'T CARE!! JUST GET THIS THING INTO SPACE!! NOW!!" Isaac shouted.

"THAT DOES NOT COMPUTE. WHAT IS YOUR DESTINATION, MASTER?"

From outside, Sakura could hear the angry Robotic Knight. "DESTROY THE SHIP!!! BUT I WANT THOSE DUELISTS ALIVE!!"

Sakura screamed.

"I DON'T CARE!! THE FURTHEST PLANET FROM THIS ONE!! JUST GET US OUT OF HERE!!!!"

"COMMAND ISSUED. SETTING COORDINATES FOR CASSIA, THE WATER PLANET. BLASTING OFF IN T-MINUS 10… 9… 8… 7…"

"DEXTER!!!! BLAST OFF!!! NOOOOOOOOWWWW!!!!!!!!" Shouted a frustrated, antsy Isaac.

"BLASTING OFF. NO NEED TO YELL."

The throttle began to blaze. Fire poured from the exhausts. The impact blew Robotic Knight, the Mechabot, and all the Machiners back in all directions. The Spaceship shot off into the sky! Within seconds, it was out of sight! The Spiny Moles watched from their hole as the rocket disappeared into the sky.

"No… noo… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" Robotic Knight shouted. "DO NOT THINK YOU'VE SEEN THE LAST OF ME, ISAAC MONCLAIRE!!! YOU HEAR ME?! THIS GAME IS FAR FROM OVER!!!"

In the deep reaches of space, the Excalibur shot forward like a meteor! Erd began to get smaller and smaller into view until it was swallowed by the black and purple-ness of space. Isaac and Sakura held each other tightly. Both their eyes were closed tight. Sakura had her face buried in Isaac's chest. Isaac slowly opened his eyes. He looked out the window to see that they were cruising through space.

"We made it? WE MADE IT! Sakura! We made it! We survived!!" Isaac said happily.

Sakura looked up and out the window. A look of relief washed over her face. "Oh my god… thank the heavens… I thought we were doomed on so many levels… I don't EVER want to go back to that planet EVER AGAIN!"

"I second that notion." Isaac said. He walked over to Dexter.

"Thanks Dex! You really saved us back there. But hey… the next time I tell you to get us out of here… GET US OUT OF HERE?! Understand?"

"UNDERSTOOD, MASTER."

"Great… so now that that's settled, where exactly are we going?" Isaac asked.

"I have no idea… but wherever it is, it cant be any worse than what we just been through." Sakura said.

"I hope your right about that." Isaac said.

"Our current destination is to Cassia, the planet of water. Home to sandy beaches, beautiful weather, sunshine, and superb fishing spots. It has been giving five stars on the vacation meter." Dexter said.

"Sweet!" Isaac said. "Maybe our next quest will consist of a surfing contest or building a sand castle!"

"Isaac, be serious!" Sakura said. "We have to hope our friends are on this new planet!"

"I'm sure they will be." Isaac said. "As long as we stick together, we'll get through whatever comes our way! Just like we did on Erd!"

Sakura smiled. "Agreed!"

And with that, the Starship Excalibur blasted through space on a one way trip to Cassia, the water planet. With newfound strength and hope in their hearts, Isaac and Sakura were indeed ready for anything that came their way!

**After narrowly escaping from Erd, the earth planet, Isaac and Sakura take off in their new spaceship towards the water planet, Cassia. Will they find their friends, or will there be more trouble over the horizon? Find out next chapter!!**


End file.
